NEVERLAND
by CaptainSwanShipper
Summary: Emma Swan, Snow White, Prince Charming, Captain Hook, Regina, and Rumpelstiltskin must travel to a land which even the Dark One fears to save Henry. What awaits them? Nothing that they expected. And hopefully nothing you expected. ;) Plot twists galore (I hope)! Also on my tumblr, which is where I update first.
1. Intro: Welcome to Neverland

**____****NEVERLAND**

So they had arrived.

Emma Swan, her Charming parents, an evil imp with control issues, an Evil Queen and a pirate captain who enjoyed a masochistic hobby of finding increasingly creative ways to get tied up (and subsequently bloodied in some unique way, shape or form) had reached Neverland.

But was this really Neverland?

Emma had never imagined it would be such a bleak-looking place: stormy seas, dark clouds, and, from what she could see, a jungle which definitely did NOT have friendly, cuddly, fuzzy bunnies just waiting to greet them. If anything, those bunnies would probably end up eating them, from what she could tell. She looked at Captain Hook off to her right.

"Are you sure this is Neverland?" she asked him.

"It most certainly is, Miss Swan," interjected Mr. Gold smoothly as he tromped toward the front of the ship. "Isn't it, ___Captain_?" The last word definitely had a scornful, challenging tone to it.

"Aye." Hook said shortly, not taking his eyes away from the island in front of him. He seemed to be watching out for something, judging by his tense posture. Or maybe that was just because of Rumpelstiltskin's presence…

"But it's so…"

"Miserable? Gloomy? Dreary? As if your very existence is being replaced with the most wretched, desolate thoughts of mankind?" the sorcerer offered. "Well, that seems a rather cheery description of it."

"What's that sound?" Snow White whispered warily as she furtively glanced around herself and tried to place the location of it.

"Ah yes, that lovely harmony," Mr. Gold continued, "That would be the boys."

Emma tilted her head to see if she could hear what her mother had heard. As she strained to hear, she definitely noticed…something. It sounded sort of like…a persistent wail? "The…boys?" she asked.

"The boys the Shadow brings to Neverland," Hook replied out of the blue. The blonde woman's head turned toward him, surprised he'd spoken, seeing as Rumpelstiltskin had been the one to explain things so far.

"Why…why are they crying?" Snow asked, tears in her own eyes as she looked at the island.

"They miss their parents," the pirate answered simply.

"Well, then, can't they go back?" Charming asked, looking perturbed by the sounds which were getting increasingly louder as they neared the island.

"No," Hook and Rumpelstiltskin said in unison. They glared at each other.

"Why?" Regina spoke up, wrapping her arms around herself as she eyed the land mass ahead of them.

The two men familiar with the realm continued to stare each other down for a few seconds longer before Hook turned his attention back to steering the ship with a growl.

The older man gave a triumphant grin, then turned to the rest of the people on board. "He won't let them leave," he told them.

"He?" commented the prince.

"The Shadow. An entity even darker than I," Rumpelstiltskin told the group ominously. The others exchanged skeptical looks. Darker than the Dark One?

Seeing the skepticism, he addressed it. "Yes, darker than the Dark One," he reiterated. The Charmings shifted nervously while Regina seemed to straighten up as if she planned to challenge the Shadow herself. Emma still wasn't sure that she believed what Mr. Gold had said, but kept silent. She supposed she'd find out soon enough.

Suddenly, Emma noticed that the ship seemed to have stopped moving.

"Hook…why are we stopping here?" she asked the pirate as he stepped away from the wheel. "Shouldn't we keep going?"

Hook spared a glance at the island and then swept his gaze over the assembled group. "I would not recommend going any nearer the island," he told them, "I have no doubt that the Shadow knows we are here. He doesn't tolerate interference. However, we have a better chance of avoiding his displeasure if we keep our distance." His eyes returned to the island and the serious expression he'd had since the journey began seemed to get even more hardened.

"I wouldn't discount the possibility that we'll be receiving some guests during our stay here," he commented lowly.

"Guests? Like who?" Charming demanded.

"For the time being, I think it would be best you not know," Rumpelstiltskin interrupted smoothly before the pirate could, then turned and clumped toward the stairs which led to their sleeping quarters. Snow and Charming looked at each other uneasily and followed, holding hands as they descended and whispering between themselves.

Hook, Regina, and Emma remained on deck. The blonde woman rubbed her arms through her coat as the wails in the distance became clearer, now that no one was speaking. Regina's pinched expression hinted that she was just as affected by the cries as Emma, but was trying hard not to show it.

"So Henry is somewhere on that island," Emma commented in a voice she hoped sounded confident, but she knew wasn't. She swore in her head when she realized just how shaken her voice was.

"Aye," Hook said, not looking at either of the women.

"How long will it take to find him?" Regina demanded.

The pirate gave her an irritated sidelong glance. "The sooner, the better," he answered with a tight jaw as he went around them and headed toward his own quarters. "I would recommend that the two of you retire for the evening," he called over his shoulder as he descended the staircase.

Regina and Emma watched him as he left. The former queen looked as if she wanted to throw a fireball at his back. "He didn't even answer my question," she practically growled.

"He probably doesn't know the answer," Emma replied. Instead of being angry at him, though, she was more inclined toward concern. Had they made the right decision in trusting him? What if he just decided to leave them on the island and go off on his own to do who knew what?

Regina seemed to read her mind. "Can we really trust him?"

Emma mulled over what had happened recently, especially in the past 24 hours. Hook showing up at her apartment and offering his help, his cooperation with her father (yeah, he'd stolen the bean, but he hadn't stabbed Charming in the back in the process), his surprise at finding out Henry's paternity, the fact that he'd stolen the bean, then had changed his mind and returned it to them, this time offering his ship as well as his own services. And then, of course, there was his agreement to a stalemate with Rumpelstiltskin.

"I…don't know," she murmured slowly. "I know he said that he valued his life more than the chance to destroy Mr. Gold once and for all, but…what changed his mind? When did he change it?"

Distracted by her thoughts, Emma didn't notice Regina's eyes uncomfortably darting in the direction Hook had gone. "Who knows. It's not as if it's important, anyway," the dark-haired woman said flippantly, "The real question is, was he telling the truth when he said it? What was that oh-so-special superpower of yours telling you?"

Emma glared at the insinuation. "It didn't really have time to pick up on anything. I think we were in a bit of a rush, what with the entire town nearly being destroyed and needing saving since the beans were destroyed."

Regina's lips thinned, but she didn't comment. "Good night, Miss Swan," she told her authoritatively, whirling on her heels and clicking toward the steps.

Emma could tell this was going to be such a wonderful trip. She let out a huff and her mind automatically turned to Henry, as it always did when she didn't have something else to think about. And thinking about Henry in turn made her think about Neal. Blinking back sudden tears, she looked at the island.

"I'll save our son, Neal. I swear it," she whispered fiercely.


	2. NEVERLAND: Ch 1, Morning Comes

_****__**NEVERLAND: Ch. 1: Morning Comes**_

Emma spent a good portion of the night just tossing and turning in her cot as her thoughts flew in all directions. She swore the night was longer than she'd ever experienced. The wailing from the island, though muffled through the wooden walls, didn't help. But because the night was taking FOREVER to finish, she had enough time to get used to it and fell into a restless slumber.

She woke up with a jolt to sunlight streaming through the porthole and onto her face. But she swore that that hadn't been what had woken her up. Emma struggled to get her fuzzy thoughts together to concentrate. After what seemed like minutes, but was probably only seconds, she knew what it was that had made her wake up. Silence. There were no muffled cries sneaking their way through the walls and into her cabin. She blinked. The silence was almost eerie at this point. She reached over and picked up the watch she'd laid on the side table. Looking at the time, she practically leapt out of bed and hit the ceiling. 5:30!? She glanced at the window. Was that 4:30 in the morning or 4:30 in the afternoon? How was that even possible? How long had she been asleep?

Hurriedly dressing in what was her only outfit on the journey, just like in the Enchanted Forest (this clothes was at least slightly more sturdy), Emma practically pulled her door off its hinges as she flew out of the room and headed above deck.

She came to a screeching halt when she saw the rest of the group assembled and eating on chairs they must have pulled up from their rooms. She was the last one? Really?

"Well, Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken," commented Regina drily as she nonchalantly peeled an apple in her seat.

"That would be Aurora," Emma shot back. She looked around at everyone else. Hook and Rumpelstiltskin were at opposite ends of the group, not even acknowledging each other's presence. Her mother and father had placed their chairs as close together as they could and were having yet another whispered conversation. Then, Snow popped a grape into her husband's mouth and Emma quickly removed her eyes from them in embarrassment and with the slightest urge to gag. It must have been the result of finally accepting them as her parents that made her do that, just like that time she and Henry had come back to the apartment to find Charming 'helping' her mother sleep. As she moved her eyes, they landed on Regina again and she saw the other woman roll her eyes. Well, that was one more thing they had in common, other than Henry…

"Where did the food come from? There was nothing on the ship when we got to Storybrooke and we didn't really have much time to grab some before we left to come here," she asked. She looked at Hook. "How did you find time to get food, leave Storybrooke, come back and then leave again?"

The pirate's jaw tightened. "I wasn't the one who brought it, lass."

"No, that would be me," Rumpelstiltskin said. Emma looked at him quizzically. He conjured an orange from thin air and held it out to her. So that's how he'd done it. She glanced at it doubtfully, then took it. He wouldn't poison her, right? Now that he knew she was his grandson's mother…and she HAD saved his sorry hide by bringing him back to the town after Hook had stabbed him.

Looking around, she decided she didn't feel like dragging her own chair up, so she decided instead to sit herself down on the steps leading up to the ship's wheel.

As she sat down, she looked up at the clear sky. And her jaw dropped. Her eyes widened.

"Are…are there…TWO suns!?" she practically shrieked.

Hook glanced in the direction she was looking, completely nonplussed. "Aye."

"But…but that's not possible!"

"It is here," Hook answered grumpily, "Neverland has many suns and moons, rising at different times. The only way to tell the hour was to find one of the beasts with a clock inside it." He glared at Mr. Gold.

"Was?" Emma echoed. Her gaze followed Hook's and she raised an eyebrow at the older man.

"Ah yes, I do recall a crocodile species that had a tendency to swallow clocks that the children dropped as they were brought to Neverland…if not the children themselves, of course. They made for quite resilient vests. Shame that they seem to have gone extinct," Rumpelstiltskin mused, idly rubbing the top of his cane. Emma had a pretty good guess as to why they were extinct…

"So even though I have a watch, forget trying to figure out the time," she commented. The two men nodded.

"Even if you could tell the time, Miss Swan, it flows differently here. Hence why the good captain here hasn't aged a day," Mr. Gold replied, giving a slightly irritated look to the other man.

"It is still possible to age here," Hook said, "But it is much, much slower. And it isn't the same for each being, let alone each person…at least not in the case of the boys on the island. Some age, others do not. No one can understand it."

"It can safely be assumed that the Shadow has something to do with it. However, he has never revealed his methods to anyone," Rumpelstiltskin responded, somewhat bitterly. Emma threw him a suspicious glance. Looked like she'd be keeping a closer eye on him than she'd planned, at least until she figured out what had given his voice that edge.

"So, this Shadow," Charming slipped in casually, "What exactly IS it?"

"It's best you don't know," the pirate answered as he got up and climbed the steps next to Emma. She shifted over a bit more so that he could get by without bothering his injuries by forcing him to maneuver awkwardly around her, though it didn't seem she'd had to. They were wider than they looked. She turned to watch him as he prepared to steer the ship.

"So we're going to the island today, right?" she asked him.

"Aye. Though we'll be back to this location by the next nightfall," Hook said as he turned the ship back toward the island…which had moved to the opposite side of the Jolly Roger from where it had been the night before? Emma was sure they'd been facing the island when they'd anchored, but now it was behind them. Was that possible?

"Did…did the island ___move_?" she inquired of no one in particular.

A twisted smile managed to slide across Hook's formerly foreboding face. "It does that occasionally."

Emma had a bad feeling that this particular adventure would be nothing like the Enchanted Forest.

* * *

As they sailed closer to the island, Emma felt more and more uneasy, not to mention more afraid for Henry's safety. It wasn't that the island ___looked _dangerous. It barely even ___felt _dangerous. In fact, it seemed like a perfect paradise. Tropical trees and beaches. The water was getting clearer the closer they got to the island. Even the weather was perfect. But all the perfection almost made her break out in hives. It was too good to be true.

Hook sailed the ship into a cove, anchoring next to a cliff jutting out into the ocean, close enough that they could connect the ramp and use it as a bridge. When Emma saw that everyone was disembarking, she gave Hook a confused glance.

"Shouldn't someone stay behind on the ship? This isn't exactly a harbor."

The pirate's lips twitched upward almost imperceptibly in what was the first positive expression she'd seen since they'd boarded the ship. "She can take care of herself," he told her. Then his demeanor became somber again as he contemplated the island.

"We must stay together while we are here on the island," he said to the group.

"Why?" Regina asked as she took in the island, "It's daytime, it can't be that dangerous. If we separate, we have a better chance of finding my son."

"And that is where you would be wrong," Hook responded. "Neverland is just as deadly during the day as it is during the evening, if not moreso because someone allows themselves to become less vigilant."

"The Shadow?" Emma asked.

"He doesn't emerge during the day," Mr. Gold said, "But although he is by far the most dangerous obstacle to us, there are other threats we must consider."

"Liii-iike…?" the blonde woman led on, spreading her hands in a way to encourage disclosure.

"Well, we'll deal with them as they come along. No need to frighten you back to the ship. Although that would make this much easier…" the older man mused.

"No chance. We ___all_ need to be looking for him," Emma answered, brooking no argument.

"We all offer different skills that could make that easier," Snow White interceded helpfully.

"With all due respect, Mary Margaret, but what would those skills be, exactly?" Rumpelstiltskin challenged.

"Well, Charming is a good fighter. I know some survival skills and I'm not too bad with a bow. Emma and Regina have magic. And of course, you and Hook actually know how Neverland works."

"Emma knows magic?" inquired Hook with a lift of his brow, turning to look at the individual in question. A suspicious glint entered his eyes.

Emma met his glance uncomfortably. "Yes. Well…sort of. I just found out myself, okay? I don't know how that stuff works."

"That 'stuff', Miss Swan, may be what decides whether or not you survive this journey," Mr. Gold replied with a steely glare, clearly insulted at her casual mislabeling. He returned his attention to the rest of the group. "So be it. We travel together. But don't expect me to rescue you from any situations of your own making," he warned.

Charming seemed to take offense at that. He crossed his arms and regarded the other man coolly. "Henry would never forgive you if something happened to us," he commented.

"That doesn't really concern me at the moment," Rumpelstiltskin answered with one of his trademark insolent grins, firmly placing his hands on top of his cane and steadying it. "My goal is to retrieve my grandson. The rest of you are simply a hindrance."

"That's everyone's goal," Charming replied, then turned to glare at the pirate, "Except maybe for Hook." The dark-haired man idly examined his hook, but didn't respond.

"Can we get moving now?" Regina asked impatiently, "While you all bicker, Tamara and Greg are going who knows where and doing who knows what with Henry."

"Regina's right," Emma said. "Let's get moving. How much daylight do we have, Hook?"

At her question, the pirate looked up from his intent inspection of the hook. Glancing at the sky, his face scrunched up as he considered the angle of the sun and then looked at the island and its shadows. 'What hour do you have on your watch, Miss Swan?"

"My watch?" the blonde woman wondered as she looked at it. She'd planned on leaving it on the ship—one less thing to worry about—but she'd kept it on for some reason, anyway. "But I thought the flow of time is different here so my watch is useless?"

"I can offer an estimated amount of time based on the hour and angle of the suns."

She eyed him skeptically, but checked anyway. "It's 7:15."

Hook looked at the sky one more time. "We have about 18 hours of light left. Depending on our location, we ought to return and stay on the ship within 17 hours."

"18 HOURS?!" Emma practically yelped.

The corner of the pirate's mouth twitched at her outrage. "We won't be trekking through the jungles the entire time. I think it would be best if we rest again within roughly 6 hours."

"Why only 6 hours? We were walking through the Enchanted Forest for 8 hours at a time. The more ground we cover, the sooner we'll find Henry." Snow said.

"The terrain here in Neverland is not like that of the Enchanted Forest," Hook replied. "You will tire much more quickly here. This is not a place you want to fall asleep indiscriminately."

"So how are we going to do this?" Emma asked.

At the question, Hook and Mr. Gold turned to each other and had a stare-down contest. Eventually, they both straightened and regarded each other with composed facades.

"Well, ___Captain_. Since you know of the land more recently than I, what would ___you _recommend?" Rumpel queried, a challenge in his tone. Hook narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to the group.

"We stay together for the time being. Should there come a time when we must separate, some of you shall travel with Rumpelstiltskin, the others with me, to make certain that at least one member of the group knows what they're doing and where they are."

"But who goes with who?" wondered Snow.

"May I make a suggestion?" offered the sorcerer. The group looked at each other uneasily, then nodded.

"Miss Swan ought to travel with me so I can teach her more about her magic," he continued. Everyone but Emma and Hook nodded.

"No." Emma stated flatly. Her parents and Regina looked at her in surprise.

"But honey, you need to learn how to use it," her mother cajoled.

"I can learn on my own. I don't want to learn his type of magic. Besides, I don't think it would work well with mine, for some reason."

"So you'd rather go with the pirate who doesn't know ANY magic?" her father argued.

Emma glanced at Hook, who was in the process of throwing a dirty look at Charming. "Yes," she replied simply. "Besides, I think he would need some magical intervention at some point, considering his track record with fights." This comment made Hook turn his dirty glare to her.

"For your information, lass, my most recent battles have been the result of underhanded betrayal in foreign lands rather than honest fights and thus are considered moot because of their bad form."

"And that would be different here?" she challenged. "From the way you and Gold talk about Neverland, everything here is sneaky and underhanded and dangerous and unexpected. You say that you're capable of winning any fights you get into here?"

"Yes. This world is more familiar to me. I know what could happen, unlike the other recent fights."

"Yeah right," Emma smirked. She turned back to the group as Hook continued to glare at her. "You heard him. He knows this place better than any others we've been in. We can't afford to lose him as one of our guides. If we get separated and I go with him, he has a better chance of survival with some magical assistance."

"So send Regina with him," Charming offered. "She knows magic, too. And she obviously knows it better than you do."

Regina stared in outrage at the prince. "___Excuse_ me. Don't go making decisions for me without my permission!"

"But then wouldn't the balance of magic be off?" Snow threw in.

"No," Rumpelstiltskin answered, "I'm more powerful than the two of them combined, so it would in fact be better balanced. Perhaps they both ought to go with him."

The group slowly turned to stare at him (except Hook) in shock.

"WHAT?!" Charming practically bellowed, "My daughter is not going ANYWHERE with that…that…**____****pirate**.."

"Do you have a better idea, Prince?" the older man asked. "If the two of them go with him, not only will the magical balance be more even, but should they find Henry first, he'll see both of his mothers at once instead of being forced to wonder where one of them is and how they are. And you get to stay with your beloved wife. Not to mention the fact that I believe Miss Swan and the Captain could teach Regina a thing or two about survival."

"Are you saying I'm incompetent?!" Regina demanded at the insinuation. Gold ignored her.

"Well…when you put it that way…" Snow trailed off. She looked at her husband imploringly.

"Snow, we haven't been with our daughter for very long and now you want us to be separated again?" he asked her.

His wife looked at him in exasperation. "We're not separating right NOW, Charming. This is just…a Plan B. A precaution."

Charming checked out the group and their expressions. Eventually, he huffed out a breath. "Fine."

"Good boy," Snow replied, patting him fondly on the chest.

"So where do we go first?" Emma asked in general.

"There is no starting point, lass," Hook commented wearily. "We know nothing about their location except for the fact that they're here in Neverland. The most we can do is comb the island and look for clues."

"Can't Mr. Gold use that globe of his to get an exact spot to go?" asked Regina.

"That map only offers a general location. You expect Tamara and Greg to simply stay and wait for us to find them?" the man in question asked.

"Well, couldn't you just poof it up when we lose them so we could try again?" Emma wondered, gesturing with her hands.

Rumpelstiltskin gave her a withering look. "I must be within a certain distance to summon it, Miss Swan. And I doubt any of you would be willing to carry it."

"But you were able to summon our breakfasts," she pointed out.

"Summoning food and summoning magical items are two very different forms of magic," he countered.

"We're wasting time," Hook suddenly said. "You can argue the finer points of magic when we find the boy."

The bickering stopped as everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Well, except for his nemesis, who preferred to glare at him for interrupting. The others, though, were watching him as if he'd suddenly announced he'd given up pirating and would spend the rest of his days as a serving wench.

"He's right. Let's go," Snow said after recovering, then moving forward along the cliff toward the island. Her husband hesitated a split second before following, brushing up hard against Hook, who stumbled back a step. The pirate's angry glare attempted to burn a hole in the other man's back and he was about to shout an insult at him when Regina and Mr. Gold slipped by him on either side to follow the royal couple. Regina's determined steps pulled her ahead of the sorcerer, who leisurely strolled behind, apparently in no real rush. As he stepped past Hook, Rumpelstiltskin gave him an amused, haughty look which only incensed him further. He was thisclose to revoking the truce they'd called back in Storybrooke when Emma spoke.

"I'm sorry," she told him. Surprised at hearing the words because it had been such a long time since someone had said them to him (well, except for when she left him on the beanstalk and even then, they hadn't exactly been pleasant circumstances), Hook's fury was derailed as he glanced at her. He blinked, not certain he'd heard right.

"I'm sorry," Emma repeated, making sure he was paying attention this time. "For the way they're treating you. For dragging you into this."

So apparently, he had heard right. Calmer now, he scrutinized her expression. Though her eyes were rimmed in red, Hook could see that she was being honest. He deflated a bit more.

"You didn't force me to do this lass, I offered my services to you freely," he said to her.

"I know, but I don't think you expected…well___, that_," she replied, gesturing at the departing group.

"Expecting anything less would have been an illusion on my part," Hook answered, "I did, after all, nearly wipe out your entire town."

Emma pursed her lips. "But you didn't."

"No, but it was a very real possibility."

"A possibility that didn't happen because you made the right decision," the woman firmly stated.

A grin tugged at the corner of Hook's mouth. "Did I?" he asked, "It would have spared me the sight of my greatest enemy freely abusing my good will on my own ship without consequences."

Emma snorted. "I'm sure he's not thrilled with the situation either."

"At least that can be considered a small consolation," Hook commented drily.

The blonde woman's mouth tilted upward slightly, but vanished as she looked at the island and the group still shrinking in the distance. "You don't think they would leave us behind, do you?"

Hook turned his head in the direction of the group and watched them. "They would like nothing more than to leave me behind," he stated. "But they would not leave you behind, Emma."

As he said this, Snow turned around, apparently noticed that they were still by the ship, and waved her arms in the air, summoning them. Emma couldn't help but let a little grin sneak out again as she watched her mother hop and flap her arms as if she were trying to take flight.

"We should get going, then," she told Hook. He nodded, then stepped aside so she could go ahead of him. She wasn't sure whether she should take the offer, but quickly realized that it was common sense. He knew where they were, what lingered out there in the thick jungle, the seemingly peaceful ocean, but she didn't. Therefore, she accepted his offer and walked forward in the direction of the rest of the group.

It was time to find Henry.

* * *

**_Phew, much longer than the last chapter, right? I'm still considering whether I should continue posting the chapters here in full, or if I should break them down a bit more to make them more readable. Feel free to let me know which you would prefer._**


	3. NEVERLAND: Ch 2, New Clothes (Part 1)

_I got so involved in this chapter that it got much too long for me to post as a single chapter. I've broken it down into two parts. This is the first. The second should follow within a week. _

* * *

_**Ch. 2: New Clothes (Part 1)**_

"So where to first?" asked Snow once Emma and Hook had caught up to them.

"First we must find the 6 Princes and the Gnomes," the pirate answered.

Emma blinked at him in confusion. "Princes? Gnomes? In _Neverland_?" she wondered aloud.

Hook raised an eyebrow. "Aye. We need to see if the princes have heard of foreigners intruding on their lands. As for the gnomes, the lot of you will likely need additional clothes at some point."

"Gnomes? Clothes?" Emma queried, completely at a loss. She'd never heard of gnomes in Neverland…

"Excellent tailors, Miss Swan," Rumpeltstiltskin offered.

Regina's nose wrinkled. "I think I'll be fine. I don't need grubby little men pawing at me for clothes I don't need."

"They wouldn't," Mr. Gold continued placidly, "It would be the grubby little women pawing at you."

The former evil queen's resulting look of revulsion was almost comical. Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Somehow, Regina figured out what she was doing and gave her a dirty look.

"She does have a point, though," Snow commented, "Do we really need more clothes? We were just fine in the Enchanted Forest with what we had. And how would we pay for it?"

Hook gave her pronounced look of 'Really?' "If you insist on maintaining your current attire throughout our time here, feel free to do so, I won't force the issue."

Emma considered the situation. Yes, they'd made it through the Enchanted Forest fine. But this wasn't the Enchanted Forest. Who knew what sort of situations they would end up in? And Hook knew this place as well as Rumpelstiltskin, if not better. Not to mention, they didn't know how long they would be here. The thought made her stomach sink. She didn't want to even _guess_ how long this was going to take. What if they never found Henry? And who knew if they'd even find a way back? That had been the last magic bean…her stomach sank further. Mentally shaking her head to clear it of the troubling thoughts, Emma forced herself to focus on the here and now. She turned to her mother.

"We should probably follow Hook's advice," she told her. Snow tilted her head in question.

"He's the one who knows this place," Emma pointed out in explanation.

"So does Mr. Gold," Charming commented, turning to the older man. "What do you say, Rumpelstiltskin? Should we listen to Hook on this clothes thing?"

The man in question frowned contemplatively and harrumphed. "In this instance, yes."

Charming scowled. "Fine."

"Okay, so how do we get there?" Emma asked the pirate, who was once again glaring at the other men in the group. He turned to her at the question.

"The princes live at the center of the island, by that mountain," he explained, pointing in the direction of a tall peak in the distance. "Though each of them owns an individual kingdom, small though it may be, all six reside at the central palace."

"But then how do they rule?" asked Snow. "They should be close to the people."

"Unless the people call them 'Evil'," Regina grumbled under her breath. Snow ignored her, though Charming threw her an irritated glance.

"They don't exactly rule a people," Rumpelstiltskin threw in helpfully.

"What do you mean?" Emma wondered suspiciously.

Hook was the one who answered. "Neverland has no formal rulers." His face darkened. "The princes are merely Lost Boys who have grown to adulthood."

"How did they become princes, then?" the blonde woman asked.

"They merely declared themselves, and since they were adults, no one challenged them," the pirate replied.

"Are they dangerous?" Snow queried cautiously.

Hook considered this. "Compared to the other Lost Boys, no. These men are no longer under the Shadow's control. Or at least, not at the same level."

"So this…Shadow. It's in charge of the Lost Boys?" Charming wondered aloud in the first half-civil comment he'd aimed at Hook since they'd embarked.

The pirate's gaze darted to the prince. He nodded. "He is the one who brings them here...and never lets them leave. A small portion of them are his immediate representatives. They are the most dangerous."

"Why?" Snow asked warily.

"That's neither here nor there," Rumpelstiltskin declared. "Shall we get moving, _Captain_?" There it was again, that note of scorn he employed when referring to the pirate's title.

"We should go to the gnomes, first," Hook answered after a stare-down (well, really more of a glare-down) with his nemesis.

"I refuse to allow those creatures anywhere near my person," Regina declared regally, her eyes daring the others to contradict her.

"As I told Miss Swan's mother, I won't force the issue," Hook repeated. The dark-haired woman nodded triumphantly.

"Oo-kay, then, why the gnomes first?" Emma asked.

"Their settlement is on the way to the 6 Princes' Palace," the pirate told her as he stepped forward in the general direction of what looked like a path between two particularly large trees.

"But how are we going to pay them?" wondered Snow as she fell into step next to her daughter.

Hook stopped so abruptly that Emma almost ran into him. Turning enough to face Snow, he grinned slightly. "I have my ways, milady."

Charming came forward to stand next to his wife. "Lead the way, pirate." He practically spit the last word. Emma rolled her eyes while Hook smirked.

The captain gave an arrogant bow, "Of course, your majesty." He turned swiftly, the tails of his coat flying as he went into the jungle. Snow gave her husband an irritated glance before following. Charming gave her a confused look as she passed and then went after her.

"Ladies first," Rumpelstiltskin said, giving the path a pointed look as he rested his hands on his cane. Regina and Emma eyed him warily, then one after the other, headed into the trees. When they reached the interior of the jungle, they turned back to make sure he was still following. He was, at a leisurely pace as he observed his surroundings.

The three of them caught up to the rest of the group quickly. As they did so, the unlikely sextet turned as one and headed deeper into the jungle, unaware of the eyes that were watching them.

* * *

About an hour into the walk, the humidity which had been practically nonexistent by the ocean had definitely kicked up. Though not unbearable, Emma could tell it wouldn't be long before it was. Letting out a disgruntled breath, she pulled off her jacket. At least it didn't seem like mosquitoes existed here...

"Hook, do you know where we could get some water?" Snow asked as she followed behind the pirate.

Hook looked over at her and nodded. "There's a waterfall in the next clearing."

"And you're sure it's safe to drink?" Snow asked.

"Yes, and the clearing is open enough that we should be able to keep an eye on our surroundings," Hook replied.

When they broke through the trees, the group (excluding Hook and Mr. Gold, who had seen these sorts of things before) stopped and stared in awe at the massive waterfall, at least 5 stories tall and rumbling into a cistern scattered with…huge pink boulders? Emma incredulously looked at Hook, who had stepped aside to allow the others to come through. Was she really seeing this?

"Aye, lass, those stones are in fact that color, no magic necessary. The glow they cast at night is quite lovely, if you survive trekking through the jungle long enough to see it," the pirate answered in reply to her unasked question.

"Is there a way we could take some extra water with us for the rest of the journey? I don't think the 3 bottles we have from Storybrooke and Hook's canteen will be enough," Snow asked as she walked forward toward the river.

Hook looked around the clearing. He nodded at some tall reeds that seemed about as wide as a fist. Emma thought they almost looked like bamboo. "Those reeds ought to be sufficient," he said.

Approaching them, he pulled out a wicked-looking knife and slashed through one of them. Pulling down the portion he'd cut off, he examined it and strategically cut it again so that he had a piece about a foot and a half long. Curious, Emma walked up to him and checked out the reed herself. She was surprised at how hollow it was. And it really did look like bamboo.

"How do we make sure the water doesn't run out?" she asked him as she looked around the clearing for some sort of inspiration.

Her mother beat him to the answer. "We could find a stone that's just the right size to stop it up. Then, weave a plug out of some of these other grasses, cover it in mud, and place it below the stone and at the end of the reed to seal it and make it even more sturdy."

Hook looked at the short-haired woman in admiration. "Exactly so, milady."

"Mud?" Regina asked aloud disgustedly. Emma couldn't help but share the evil queen's distaste, though she knew better than to show it.

Snow grinned. "It isn't as bad as you would think it would be."

"Ri-ight, so how many do you think we'll need?" the blonde woman asked, not bothering to argue.

"May I?" Snow asked the pirate as she put out her hands. Hook placed the reed into her hands and watched as she seemed to weigh it. "They're not too heavy on their own, but with water they'll be a bit heavier," she commented, "I do think we each need one of our own, though. So six should do it. I know we have the canteen and water bottles, too, but better to be safe than sorry."

By the time that they had cut down the reeds and plugged them, then filled them with water, another half hour had passed. Taking one last sip out of his own canteen and swiping his sleeve across his mouth to wipe away any excess water (which he couldn't feel thanks to the humidity) , Hook turned to the group and gestured to the opposite side of the river.

"The path continues through those trees," he commented.

Emma looked down the river. "There's got to be a bridge or a shallow portion of the river that we can cross," she said.

"Something like that," Hook grinned, then pointed at a log a ways down.

"Oh no," Regina replied, shaking her head. "There is no way I am crossing a flimsy log like that."

"Well, my queen, it isn't nearly as flimsy as it looks, though I would recommend removing your boots before crossing," Hook answered as he started to move toward it. The group followed, Regina trailing it as she scanned the bank for another way across.

When they reached the log, Hook took the initiative and gracefully hopped onto it. Some members of the group held their breath as he did so. Others were mentally crossing their fingers that he would end up going for a swim. The latter's wishes went ignored as he comfortably and confidently turned back to them.

"As you can see, this log is far more sturdy than one would believe. Who would like to prove their mettle first?" he asked as his gaze swept over the others, a challenging gleam in his eye.

Charming narrowed his eyes at the provoking invitation. Rumpelstiltskin kept his face stoic. Regina simply pursed her lips while Emma and Snow regarded the log warily.

"Oh, I'll do it," Emma bit the bullet as she approached the makeshift bridge. As she did so, Hook raised an eyebrow and surprisingly offered her his hand. She looked at it, then at him, her mind wandering back to another recent, similar situation…When she looked at his face, she knew he was remembering too. Though his face remained passive, his eyes were almost amused and arrogant. Guarded, knowing he had a right to just yank her up and throw her into the river for what had happened before, she placed her hand in his. Her father let out a shouted protest, but she was too focused on getting ready to go for a swim to pay him any attention.

"Good lass," Hook commented instead of tossing her into the river. His eyes softened a bit from their previous dare. Emma had a feeling she'd just passed some sort of test.

Carefully, she stepped up onto the log. It was wider than it had looked from the ground, enough for two average-sized people to stand next to each other. Roughly in the middle, it had been worn to a smooth surface by who knew how many feet. Shifting her weight slightly, she checked to make sure it wouldn't roll. It didn't. Emma cautiously took a step forward. Still stable. She looked at Hook.

"Go on," he encouraged her, tilting his head in the direction of the opposite side of the river. She nodded back and made her way to the other end of the log. Stepping down, she turned around to see the pirate offering his hand to her mother, who seemed to smile and thank him, much to her father's outrage. Snow turned to her husband once she was on the log, said a few words, then put her hand out for him to take. Though still glaring at Hook, he took his wife's hand and followed behind her as she approached Emma.

Now only Regina and Rumpelstiltskin remained. Obviously, the older man would not want the pirate's assistance. Regina, on the other hand, still looked utterly indignant as she glanced from left to right trying to find another way across.

"Regina, there's no other way across!" Emma shouted, "Just take off your boots and come across. Henry is waiting!"

The last sentence seemed to hit home. Looking down at her feet, the former queen shook her head with a scowl and accepted Hook's proffered hand. Her face paled as she stumbled a bit when she stepped up, but the pirate stabilized her with his hook at her back and a firm grip on her hand. His steadfast assistance made her blink and look up at him in surprise. He didn't react, just urged her to continue. She hesitated and looked down, paling at the distance from the bridge to the water.

"Don't look down, Regina!" Snow called.

The nervous woman jerked her head back up and threw a glare at her stepdaughter. Returning her attention to the task at hand, Regina took a deep breath and released Hook's hand as she stepped forward. Putting one foot in front of the other and making sure not to look down, she made it across and almost collapsed with relief when she touched down on the solid ground. Knowing that would only make her seem even more pathetic, though, she managed to keep her head high and her knees from buckling.

At the other end of the log, Hook and Rumpelstiltskin were staring each other down. Emma was worried that Mr. Gold would knock Hook into the river himself or that Hook would take a swing at him. Then what would happen? They needed both men to rescue Henry and if one ended up incapacitated, what would they do?

But though tense, neither man confronted the other. Instead, the older man just waved his hand and poofed back into existence next to Charming, who startled back a step when it happened, then gave him a narrow look. Emma wondered why Regina hadn't done the same rather than confront the log…

Hook's gaze had swung to them when Rumpelstiltskin rematerialized. Pressing his lips together when he noticed what had happened, he walked toward them. Emma thought the sorcerer may have just poofed the log away as Hook went across, but he didn't. She couldn't help but wonder why…

"We should get moving," Hook commented to no one in particular as he stepped off the log and began walking toward a break in the trees. The rest followed without any remarks.

* * *

Yet another hour into their trek, Emma's prediction about the climate came true. Though they were in the shade for the most part, the humidity did, in fact, become practically unbearable. Everyone was basically wilting as they trudged down the path…except for Hook. Somehow, he managed to keep himself upright and didn't seem any worse for wear. Even with all the leather and that ridiculously heavy coat he wore…A sudden thought came to her mind. She caught up to him from where she'd been lagging.

"Hook…why are you still wearing your coat? Isn't it kind of hot for that?"

"Are you asking me to disrobe, Swan?" Hook purred at her. Thankfully, Charming was far away enough that he didn't hear.

"No," she answered. She lowered her voice a bit. "Did the gnomes make it?"

Hook's eyes gleamed. "I knew you were a smart one. Aye, they did."

Emma studied the outfit. It looked like regular leather to her. "Is it enchanted or something?"

"Would you like a closer look? I'm sure I could arrange a…private examination," the pirate asked her with a waggle of his eyebrows.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes, though she was glad that it looked as if he'd finally loosened up since they started the journey. "I think I'll pass. So? Enchanted?"

"Truthfully, lass, I'm not entirely certain what they did to it. The gnomes are quite secretive about their methods, you see."

Emma considered this tidbit thoughtfully. "So can they make any sort of clothes?" she asked finally.

"Well, I'm afraid I'm woefully unenlightened as to that, my dear. Though I would say it is not a far-fetched possibility."

She nodded at this information, her mind whirring with all sorts of options. Then, she focused her mind on more pressing matters. "How much longer until we reach them? Or some water? I think we'll be running out soon…" she asked, glancing back at the rest of the group, which seemed as haggard as she was. Even Mr. Gold seemed to be less…bouncy than usual.

Hook continued to walk forward, pushing aside some branches. "We should be reaching the gnomes soon," he answered, "They ought to have some water for us as well."

"How soon?" Emma wondered.

The pirate gave her a casually amused glance. "Patience is a virtue."

As he said the last word, he pushed aside a particularly thick bunch of branches and stopped. Watching Emma, he tilted his head, inviting her to look closer. She did and when she peered through the branches, her eyes widened. She turned to Hook.

"Is that…?" she asked. He nodded. Turning her head back to the view, she took in the details of what she was seeing.

A rocky clearing was punctuated with one particularly huge outcropping that stood taller than any people she knew. In fact, it sort of reminded her of a miniaturized version of Pride Rock from that Lion King movie she'd seen as a tween. Surrounding it were even more stones of all different sizes. Scattered among the stones were small round buildings with mud walls decorated with various odds and ends from the jungle, a flower here, a colorful pebble there. The roofs seemed to be made of intertwined branches. On the outskirts of the town loomed much larger buildings that were also made of mud. However, it seemed to Emma that an ordinary human could easily stand in one of them…

Wandering around the buildings were humans. Sort of. They were about two feet high and relatively stout. Most of the men had beards, though Emma noted that there were a few clean-shaven ones mixed in. All of the little people had elaborate hairstyles which matched their equally extravagant clothing, which in turn did NOT match up with their buildings.

By the time she'd taken all of this in, the rest of the group had gotten close enough to see the village. Snow, in particular, was completely enthralled while Rumpelstiltskin was completely bored. The others were at various levels of interest in between.

As they observed the goings-on in the clearing, though, Charming sneezed. Loudly. At the sound, all of the gnomes turned to look at them, uttered a relatively harmonious squeal in unison, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared. Emma was thunderstruck. Where had they gone so quickly? She turned to ask Hook or Gold, but both men were, for once, cooperating. By glaring at Charming. As was Snow.

"I couldn't help it," the prince said to them defensively.

"Where exactly did they go?" Regina asked suspiciously.

"Below ground," Rumpelstiltskin answered drily, "Our dear prince seems to have startled them."

"I said I couldn't help it!" Charming argued, "Besides, if you were paying attention, you would have noticed that they ran away after they SAW us, not when I sneezed."

"So how do we get them back?" Emma wondered.

Hook frowned. "We'll simply have to wait for them."

"Maybe if we sat closer to the village, they'd feel better about coming out?" Snow asked. "We are sort of suspicious just watching them from the trees."

"So just…sit there?" Emma couldn't help but inquire.

"Well, yeah," Snow replied. "If we sit there and act non-threatening, maybe they'll come out and talk to us."

"Would that really work?" Regina commented, raising a skeptical brow.

"She has a point. We're not exactly non-threatening," Emma replied, looking pointedly at the others. Well, except her mother. She didn't exactly scream 'I will throttle you' like the rest of the group.

"I think we're civilized enough to control ourselves and sit still for a time," Mr. Gold said wryly.

"You sure about that?" the blonde woman muttered under her breath. Fortunately, only her mother heard and tossed her a sharp look, which Emma returned with a raised brow of her own. Snow shook her head.

"Well, unless someone else has another idea, I think we should give Snow's a try," Charming announced, giving his wife a wink.

"Where do we sit, though?" Emma asked. As she perused the clearing herself, Hook pointed to a rough circular field in the center of the village.

"I believe, Miss Swan, that that would be our best bet," he told her.

"Isn't that kind of risky? Smack dab in the middle of town? One wrong move and it wouldn't be hard for them go after us," Emma commented, recalling how she'd been warned that this Neverland was not what she thought it was.

Hook grinned slightly. "It's rather unlikely that they'll attack us. The gnomes are one of the more…tolerant of the groups that live here. Their nature is to hide, not fight, unless directly confronted." His face softened slightly. "You can trust me, Emma."

The blonde woman in question looked up at the last comment, startled. Had he just-? She swallowed nervously. Her eyes darted away from him, then back. She nodded once, then moved away from his scrutiny, not wanting to see his expression.

Eventually, the group assembled itself in the middle of the village as best they could. Settling in, everyone looked at each other.

"So do we just sit here and wait?" Emma asked.

"Well, I have some rations if anyone is hungry," Snow replied, digging through her bag. The rest of the group shook their heads. She put the bag down. "In that case, Mr. Gold and Hook can tell us some more about Neverland."

The two men scowled at each other, not pleased with being grouped together, though it was for a valid reason. Not taking his eyes off his nemesis, Mr. Gold spoke.

"Well, as has been pointed out, the _Captain_ has had more recent experience than I," he sneered. Hook bristled at the insult his title had become on the older man's tongue, but he seemed to recall the need for peace and restrained himself from lunging forward and throttling him, though the dangerous glimmer in his eyes remained.

"Aye," the pirate said tightly, "I have. However the knowledge is vast. And much of the information is completely unnecessary for the present."

"Then stop wasting our time dodging our questions and tell us what is _necessary_ for the present," Charming growled. Hook threw the prince a glare, which then turned into a smirk.

"Temper, temper, mate. Recall our current situation," he censured. Charming's jaw worked as he did just that. Snow, who'd made sure to sit next to her husband just in case something like this happened, grasped his hand warningly. He glanced down and, with effort, raised his eyes to the pirate.

"What do we need to know?" he asked with bare civility.

Hook looked around the village. "When we have the gnomes' cooperation, it will take them only hours to complete whatever new attire we request. While they work, we will continue on to the 6 Princes. When we finish our interrogation, we will return here to retrieve our purchases and return to the ship."

"What if the Princes keep us longer than we think?" Emma wondered.

The pirate turned an ominous gaze on her. "Let's hope it won't come to that," he answered.

At this point, Snow detected movement around them. Looking around, she took note of some shapes rising from the ground that hadn't been there before. Catching Emma's attention, she darted her eyes in the direction of the shapes. Acknowledging them, the blonde woman checked out the rest of the group. They also seemed to have noticed. Most of them purposely relaxed their poses, though Regina became even stiff-backed and Rumpelstiltskin seemed quite comfortable as he was.

The shapes solidified some more until a group of what looked like children encircled the sextet. Though keeping a distance, Emma could tell they were curious, at the very least. She smiled slightly as a few of the little gnomes cautiously inched forward and watched them with large, inquisitive eyes.

Encouraged, she chanced a glance at Hook and she couldn't stop her grin from widening even more. It seemed the largest group of children had congregated around the pirate and were closing in on him. Unlike Regina, however, who became more visibly uncomfortable when those around her began sneaking in closer, Hook became more relaxed. When one of the littler ones tripped and bumped into his boot in their progress forward, he chuckled. That same little gnome, a girl from what Emma could tell, hastily backed up a bit and stuck her thumb in her mouth, then regarded the pirate shyly, twisting her hair with her free hand. Hook's smile widened, then he threw a glance at Emma and winked. The woman laughed lightly, disbelieving and entertained by the fact that he could even charm toddler gnomes, though she wasn't too surprised. Taking note of her amusement out of the corner of his eye, Hook leaned forward slightly and spoke to the little girl gnome.

"Hello," he greeted her. She giggled, then trotted behind the next closest child and bashfully waved at him from her new position. At the conclusion of the little exchange, the other children became bolder and began prodding him, tugging at his clothes, and generally being children. Some even began to climb over his legs. He watched with a raised brow and amused smile, but made sure not to make any abrupt movements that would scare them away again.

Fascinated by the interactions, Emma suddenly felt a slight tug on her hair. Diverting her attention to where the tug had come from, she saw two more little gnomes examining her hair and attempting to weave it together. Feeling it would be best not to engage them just yet, she turned her attention to the rest of her own group to see how they were faring.

Her mother's face was split into a huge grin as she watched the shenanigans of the children around her. Though not as bold as the ones currently using Hook as a playground, the kids around Snow were nonetheless fairly comfortable with her. Instead of climbing her, though, they'd decided to use her as seating. Most of them were using her legs as backrests, while others had discovered her bag and were currently fiddling with it, examining the seams and trying to figure out how to get into it.

At Snow's side, Charming had attracted his own little group of admirers. Though smaller than either Hook's or Snow's broods, they were just as curious. He stayed almost completely still as they poked and prodded him. However, when one of them poked his side, he twitched slightly as he seemed to try and suppress an involuntary grin. The child apparently noticed this and a mischievous grin crossed their own face. They poked him in the same spot again. This time, he twitched a little more vigorously, then looked down in alarm. The child's smile got even bigger and Emma could see that her father knew exactly what was going to happen. He threw a desperate look in Snow's direction, but she was too absorbed in watching the little gnomes around her to catch it. Thus, she wasn't able to rescue him from his imminent doom. The child summoned a few more kids with a wave of their hand and, as one, they all began to poke him in roughly the same spot as the first child. Charming convulsed and helpless laughter escaped him as the little ones continued their assault, and it wasn't long before he was rolling on the ground, desperately trying to get away from their fiendish fingers without crushing them or bringing the wrath of the adults down on them.


	4. NEVERLAND: Ch 2, New Clothes (Part 2)

_**Ch. 2: New Clothes (Part 2)**_

While the prince rolled around, Regina and Rumpelstiltskin simply looked on with barely disguised disgust. Both avoided interacting with the few child gnomes that had decided to investigate them, but neither did they try and shoo them away, well aware that it would endanger their goal. As a result, the children around them were a bit older than the others and a bit more hesitant to approach them. When they did, they were very careful of how they went about checking them out. Easily bored because of the lack of interest from the two magic-users, the children quickly tired of examining them and made their way to the more fun groups, either joining in the fun of torturing Charming, playing with Emma's hair, or using Hook for climbing practice. A few made their way to Snow and simply sat themselves against her to watch what their comrades were doing to the prince nearby.

After several minutes of play and observation, Emma noticed more movement going on around them. Glancing around, she noticed that the adult gnomes were finally making their reappearance. Several called to the children in a foreign language. A good portion of the younger gnomes hesitated and seemed to weigh their options before abandoning their new playthings to return to their parents' sides. When one of the older-looking gnomes stepped forward to the center of the clearing, the remaining children scrambled to the sidelines. The elder gnome moved to stand facing Hook and tilted its head in appraisal.

"Hello," Hook said, smiling politely.

The gnome studied him a little longer and then nodded. "Hello," it replied. Emma was surprised it could speak English. Though maybe just the one word?

"My name is Terran. I am the leader of this village. What business do you have sitting down in our common area?" the gnome asked. Okay, so it knew more than one word. Emma was stupefied by how fluent it was. The language she'd heard the other gnomes use sounded completely different from English, so to hear it spoken so well astonished her.

"We would like to request your services for new attire," Hook answered.

"Is that so?" the gnome leader wondered. He looked around the rest of their group. Shrewdly analyzing their clothing, he raised an eyebrow. "I can see why."

Emma could see Regina's hackles start to rise up again, but before she could do or say anything, the gnome continued. "Your name, sir?"

"I am known as Captain Hook," the pirate answered.

"Ah yes, I recognize your name. My grandfather mentioned you. You've used our services before?"

"Aye, and a most exemplary, worthwhile purchase it was. Quite lasting, as you can see," Hook responded, gesturing at his clothes.

The gnome puffed up at the praise. "Well, of course. We take great pride in our craft. That is why we are so well-known." He deflated a bit and studied the rest of the group again. "None of them have had the opportunity to witness our greatness, have they?"

Hook coughed a bit before responding. Emma suspected he was trying to hide a laugh. "No. Which is why I brought them to you."

"Names?" Terran barked.

"Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, and Mr. Gold," Hook replied before they could. He tossed warning glances at the group behind the gnome's head. Not entirely sure as to the reason, though they had suspicions, they all kept quiet.

"Hm. Never heard of any of them. And they all need new clothing?" the gnome wondered. Emma could practically see the gears turning in his head and the money signs in his eyes.

"Well, now that is up to them," Hook replied, looking to the others for their decisions. Emma, Snow, and Charming nodded right away. Regina pressed her lips together as she contemplated her predicament. After several seconds of consideration, she nodded grimly. Everyone turned to Rumpelstiltskin. He raised an eyebrow at the attention.

"I am perfectly fine with what I already have," he told them.

"But you were the one who suggested we get new things," Regina challenged him.

"Yes, you lot will need it. I, on the other hand, am already appropriately attired," he answered. The group looked at him skeptically in his suit and tie. His mouth twisted. "Do you forget who I am?" he asked them. Though Snow seemed inclined to challenge him, she didn't bother.

"Mm, so that's 4 sets. And you, Captain?" Terran asked almost hopefully.

Hook grinned and spread his arms. "When will I get the opportunity to have gnomish clothing made for me again? I believe I'll have to take you up on your generous offer," he said.

Terran smiled, clearly thrilled with his new customers. "Now, as to the matter of payment…" the gnome trailed off, looking at Hook meaningfully.

"Of course, of course. Shall we discuss this in private, then, my friend?" the pirate asked, standing up. "Rather rude to discuss such things in front of the others, you know."

"Oh, yes, yes, right this way," Terran responded enthusiastically. He began to head in the direction of the large buildings Emma had seen earlier and Hook followed. The rest of the group stood up and dusted themselves off. Emma looked at Snow.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"I guess we wait," her mother shrugged. They looked around the village, the jungle surrounding it.

"You know…" Emma commented, "It hasn't been that bad so far. Uncomfortable, but nothing really dangerous."

"You noticed, too? Do you think things have changed that much since Hook and Rumpelstiltskin were here?"

The blonde woman considered the night before. She shook her head slowly. "I don't know. The night was pretty bad. And we've only been out here for a little while."

Snow nodded and was silent for a few moments. When she spoke again, she had a speculative frown on her face. "Those guests that Hook mentioned when we got here…he had almost the same expression when he mentioned the Lost Boys. Do you think they would be those guests?"

"Who knows," Emma answered, looking into the distance where the peak that was their destination stood above the trees. "Like our two helpful guides said, Neverland is nothing like what I expected. But the Lost Boys are just boys, how bad can they be? I can handle Henry pretty well. And Regina raised him, so she knows kids even better. And I guess Mr. Gold, too, seeing as he raised…Neal…" she trailed off as she began to remember what had happened. Sudden tears blurred her vision. She blinked them away furiously, but couldn't hide their presence from her mother. Snow laid a gentle hand on her arm.

"Emma…"she searched for the right words, "Just before the curse hit us…when I thought your father was dead...my world fell apart. Now, I'm not saying I understand what it's like," she rushed to add, "But…well…as it turns out, he wasn't dead. Are…are you _sure _he's dead?"

"He was _shot_," Emma replied.

"Well, yes, but…we don't know what world he landed in. They could have the medical care he would need to survive," Snow encouraged.

Emma looked at her mother bleakly, raw pain in her eyes, then turned away. "I doubt it," she laughed hollowly, "They probably don't even know what a bullet is."

"Don't say that!" Snow exclaimed. "You don't know where he is. For all we know, he could be here in Neverland somewhere!"

The blonde woman blinked at the suggestion. A dawning, hopeful realization crossed her features. "Do you really think that's possible?"

"I don't see why not," her mother answered smugly. A tremulous smile broke across her daughter's face, which made Snow smile in return.

"So I guess we have some extra questions to ask the princes," Emma murmured.

As she was finishing he sentence, movement from the direction of the large building caught everyone's attention. Turning almost as one, they saw that Hook was being led out of it by Terran. His expression gave away nothing, so everyone held their breaths as he approached them. The elder gnome spoke first.

"Well, that matter is settled. It seems the lot of you will be getting some new clothes, one outfit each," Terran told the assembled group as he came upon them. A satisfied smile lit up his round face. Bring his stubby fingers to his mouth, he whistled at the rest of the village and gestured at the humans. "We have some measurements to do!" he boomed at the other gnomes.

Within seconds, the group was surrounded except for Rumpelstiltskin, who stood to the side and watched as they were rounded up and taken to the buildings, Terran leading the way.

"What exactly did you offer as payment, Hook?" Emma whispered as they made their way.

Hook smiled mysteriously. "As I told your mother, Swan, I have my ways."

She was prepared to press the issue when they reached the out-of-place structures and was forced to drop the topic. The gnome turned to everyone.

"Seeing as we only have three buildings available, you'll be taking turns getting your measurements done," he told Emma's group. "Men on the left, women on the right. Do you all know what you want?"

The group nodded. One by one, they entered the buildings. Regina insisted on being last for some unknown reason. As she was being measured, Emma turned a curious eye to her mother.

"So what did you order?" she wondered, critically eyeing Snow's outfit. In Henry's book, her mother had been prone to more practical, tomboyish clothes when she was on the run, while in Storybrooke she'd had a tendency toward a more sweet and feminine style. So now that she had two sets of memories, what look would she go for?

Snow gave her daughter a mischievous grin at the question. "You'll have to wait and see."

Emma side-eyed her, but didn't comment. It was only a few more minutes before Regina finally emerged from the building, looking somewhat rumpled. She tossed a grouchy glare back at the structure, but didn't make any comment, though Snow and Emma could tell she wanted to. Instead, she just huffed, straightened her back and brushed down her clothing. As she was the last of the group to be measured, everyone now looked at each other, at a loss as to what to do next. Well, except Hook, who seemed right at home and quite satisfied to just stand around.

Terran approached them. "Would you like some food while you wait?" he asked.

"Do we have the time, Hook?" Snow asked as everyone turned to the pirate. He cocked a brow, then made a show of looking around the clearing at the other gnomes, at his own group, and at the mountain in the distance.

"I believe we have the time to fill our stomachs, perhaps take a brief respite from our journey," he commented. Some of the gnomes cheered in a way that sounded suspiciously child-like. Hook grinned, a twinkle in his eye.

* * *

Sitting on one side of an enormous table with the rest of her group, the meal reminded Emma of the feast she'd seen when she'd first arrived in the Enchanted Forest, just miniaturized. As a result, she was a little hesitant to eat some of the food, remembering what had been on the table when the fake Lancelot had treated her and her mother. Eyeing her options, she settled on what looked like root vegetables which seemed relatively harmless. She'd wait and see how everyone else reacted to the meat before deciding whether she would have any.

She was seated next to Snow. On her mother's opposite side was her father, never far from his wife's side….though Emma had a feeling he would have been perfectly fine is she'd sat between them. She didn't think she could handle the two of them making eyes at each other over her head, though. Just contemplating it made her skin crawl.

Next to Charming sat Rumpelstiltskin. Occasionally, Emma had noticed that the two men didn't seem nearly as hostile around each other as she would have expected. In fact, they seemed almost…friendly? Though both seemed about equally hostile toward Hook…

Speaking of the pirate, he was seated…on the other side of the table with the gnomes. For some reason, he seemed especially popular with them and had been encouraged to sit with them. He hadn't protested and gave the impression that he truly enjoyed it. Though the men were constantly talking to him and the women were vying for his particular attention (Emma could understand this to a point, but they were gnomes? And a good number married? And he was human and almost a full 3 times their height?), Hook appeared to prefer the company of the children. If any of the little gnomes came up to him, he would civilly stop whatever conversation he was having and give them his full attention. If they didn't just stare at him in awe, they would ask a question and he would answer, which would then make them run off with huge smiles on their faces to whisper excitedly with their friends and families. Emma couldn't help the little grin that crept across her face whenever she witnessed this.

Occasionally able to catch sight of Regina, who sat on Rumpelstiltskin's other side, Emma noticed that she would intermittently glare at Hook or Mr. Gold and then turn inward, looking depressed. She could only guess what the other woman was thinking, but she had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

Excusing herself from her seat, Emma walked to the opposite end of the bench where Regina sat. When her shadow fell over the former queen, she looked up. Realizing that it was Emma, her face resorted to the typical disgruntled expression she reserved especially for her son's birth mother.

"What do you want?" the dark-haired woman asked in a challenging tone.

"Could we talk a bit?" Emma ventured. Noticing that Rumpelstiltskin suddenly seemed less invested in his conversation with Charming and more curious about what was going on on his other side, she continued, "Maybe in a little more private spot?"

Regina poked at her food as she considered this request. Laying her fork down, she huffed and nodded. "Fine." Standing up, she tossed the napkin she'd had on her lap on the table. "Where?"

The blonde woman tilted her head in the direction of a nearby tree. "Over there."

Leading the way, she stopped about halfway into the shade and turned to her son's adoptive mother.

"You're worried about Henry," she said baldly.

Regina narrowed her eyes at the comment. "Obviously, he IS my son. And he's trapped here somewhere with complete strangers who tried to KILL me."

"I know, I'm worried, too," Emma told her.

"No, you don't know," the dark-haired woman hissed, "You didn't raise him for ten years. You don't know what those two did to me, what they're thinking, what they're capable of!"

"Stop." Emma commanded, her eyes flashing, "You weren't there to see what they did to me and Neal either. You didn't see Tamara try to shoot me and THEN shoot the man she was engaged to. You didn't hear the crazy stuff she said before she shot him. Don't you dare act as if I don't know how dangerous those lunatics are."

At this point, she was breathing erratically because of her outrage and the memories that were flooding back. Honestly, she felt like clocking Regina, but she refrained. Shaking with repressed adrenaline, she made sure to keep her voice low enough that they wouldn't frighten their hosts.

"They're dangerous. But they're also more helpless than us right now. We have two experts on Neverland with us. We WILL find Henry. And he'll be fine, because he's a smart, tough kid," she said this as much for herself as Regina, "If he could find me after 10 years without any hint as to who I was except for a story in a book AND after all the moves I made, he'll find a way to let us know where he is or maybe even get away from those two on his own."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "That's rather optimistic of you."

Emma was suddenly reminded of something her mother had said back in the Enchanted Forest and a corner of her mouth twitched. "Runs in the family."

"Even so, we haven't made all that much progress, have we?" the queen responded. Her face took on the somber cast Emma had seen at the table and she looked in the direction of the mountain. "Henry is smart, but he doesn't know anything about Neverland either. Even if he did get away, how do we know he'd be able to avoid EVERY danger out there?"

"We just have to believe in him," Emma answered. A fond, gentle look crossed her face, "Just like he believed in us."

Reminded of Henry's insistence that she could change and his proud hug when she'd proven that she could when she'd stopped the diamond, Regina felt a little spark of hope for the first time since they'd started this journey. Still, there was the issue of his captors. Crossing her arms, she slid a sidelong glance at the blonde woman.

"We still don't know who it is that Tamara and Ow—Greg, work for," she commented.

"No," Emma admitted, "But we can worry about that AFTER we find Henry."

"Emma! You have to try this!" came a sudden exclamation from the feast. Emma turned her head to see her mother waving a leg of meat of some sort in the air. Somewhat embarrassed by her enthusiasm, she waved back to let her know that yes, she'd seen her, and turned to Regina.

"We should go eat. Who knows when our next meal will be?" she told the other woman, then headed toward the table. Regina lingered behind momentarily, but soon followed. When she sat down, her appetite was somewhat renewed, but not fully, concern for her son still on her mind despite the conversation. Reaching for her fork, she began eating because Emma had actually had a point. She would need her strength when they found her son—so she could punish Greg and Tamara.

* * *

By the time that they finished their meal, Terran was happy to tell them that their purchase would be complete within the hour. In the meantime, Emma, Snow, and Hook decided to entertain the children while Charming stood off to the side with crossed arms, making sure to keep his ticklish points out of the reach of the children, who were too short to reach them when he was standing. Rumpelstiltskin and Regina, meanwhile, stood out of earshot and were having a conversation which mainly consisted of the former smirking while the latter threw comments in his direction with a no-nonsense expression.

As they played with the little gnomes, Emma couldn't help but notice that Hook seemed a completely different person around them. She and her mother had opted to stay within arm's reach of each other, just in case, but the pirate had chosen to take up a position further off. As a result, Emma was able to fully observe him from a distance, moreso when there was a lull in the play as the children they were entertaining began playing tag around them.

Since she could watch Hook for a longer period of time without being interrupted while the kids played, Emma noticed that the pirate really was more relaxed, more smiling, than she'd ever seen him. Not that she'd seen him that often outside of his quest for revenge, but she had a feeling that this difference had something to do with that change she'd noticed when they'd arrived in Neverland and that she had spoken about with Regina.

"Does Hook seem…happier to you?" her mother whispered to her. Emma startled a bit at the intrusion to her thinking and turned to Snow.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully.

"Well, I mean, he was always sort of happy, you know? But now he seems happy in a different way, which is strange. You would think he'd be more tense, what with being so uncomfortable coming back to Neverland. But he seems happy, even relaxed right now."

"I guess," Emma hedged.

"Who knew he was so good with kids," Snow mused.

"That was a surprise," her daughter agreed, "But…remember how Neal could steer the Jolly Roger? I wonder if that was because of Hook…."

"He could've just learned from any sailor," Snow replied with a shrug.

"Well, in New York, Neal mentioned that our world wasn't the only place he'd been. And he said that he and Hook knew each other. If he was here in Neverland, that would explain how he isn't as old as Mr. Gold by now."

Snow considered this. "I guess you're right about that. But who's to say it was Hook who taught him? I just can't imagine that he would willingly do something good for the child of Rumpelstiltskin."

"That's true," Emma murmured.

"Well, there's any easy way to find out," Snow replied.

"And what would that be?" her daughter asked warily, though she already knew the answer.

"Ask Hook," the former runaway princess answered cheerfully. She turned as if to go to the pirate and ask herself, but Emma grabbed her arm. Startled, Snow turned to her.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma told her as she released her arm.

"Why not?" Snow asked, honestly perplexed.

"Do we really want to ask him something like that with Rumpelstiltskin in hearing range?" Emma answered lowly.

"Oh." Snow turned to look in the direction of the two conversing magicians. "I guess that would be a bad idea."

"So let's forget about it for now. It's not that important anyway," Emma said negligently. The conversation was dropped as the child gnomes returned, a few deciding to take an energizing nap on Snow while the others leisurely played with Emma's hair.

Taking a cue from the kids, Snow decided to take a nap as well, asking her daughter to wake her in either a half hour or when the clothes were finished, whichever came first. Making herself as comfortable as she could without disturbing the children, she closed her eyes and drifted off. Charming took note of this and raised an eyebrow in Emma's direction, but she just shrugged.

As it turned out, Snow was able to get her entire nap in without interruption. Emma contemplated taking a nap of her own, but didn't get the chance because Terran excitedly ran up to Hook, a huge smile beaming across his face.

"Your new clothes are ready," he told the pirate, then turned to the group. "It took a bit longer than it normally would because we weren't familiar with some of the requests, but it's all done. But just to make sure, you should all probably try your things on."

Terran gestured at some gnomes who'd just emerged from some of the smaller buildings next to the large ones. They turned back into their studios and within minutes came back out, two or three gnomes at a time carrying a single large bag between them that had to contain the clothes. Each little group then approached one person and proudly held the bag up. Charmed by how proud and happy they seemed about their accomplishments, everyone who had ordered clothes couldn't help but smile. Even Regina, who'd been so against the idea in the first place, couldn't hold back a slight upturn of her mouth. Carefully taking the bags from the gnomes, the five looked at each other trying to determine who ought to go try their new wardrobe first.

It wasn't long before four sets of eyes turned to Regina, who didn't protest. Instead, she turned and walked over to one of the large buildings they'd been measured in. Within minutes, she emerged, old clothes over her arm and elegantly attired in what reminded Emma of that riding gear that she'd seen in movies about wealthy English people. Since the gnomes weren't cobblers, she'd kept her boots on and they matched up almost perfectly to her new clothes. The gnomes cheered and her reluctant grin widened as she performed a graceful curtsy to them, lifting the ends of her coat as if they were a skirt.

Almost as one, the gnomes turned to look at Emma expectantly. Well, that solved the issue of who would change next, she couldn't help but think wryly. It did make things a lot simpler. So she nodded and went to one of the impromptu changing booths herself. Hanging her bag on a peg on the wall, she opened it and stepped back to admire the gnomes' handiwork. She'd settled on an outfit similar to one of her favorites back home: a tank top, close-fitted pants, and a leather jacket. Of course, the gnomes had put their own spin on the clothes, adding embroidery in some spots and what looked like bigger pockets (for which she was grateful for). Curious, she felt the fabrics and was surprised at how soft they were. Normally, it would take a lot of wear for clothes to get that comfortable. Putting her heavy coat from Storybrooke aside, Emma set to work getting her new wardrobe on. When everything was in place, she couldn't help but smile at how nice it was and how perfectly it fit. And if Hook was right, this outfit would be ideal for Neverland's climate, which she was extremely happy about. She couldn't imagine wearing her regular clothes for who knew how long. Knowing where that thought would lead her, Emma quickly exited the room, making sure to take her old clothes with her.

The gnomes cheered again as soon as she stepped out. The smile that had been fading as she'd let her mind wander came back full force. Looking around at the happy faces, her worries melted away, if only for the time being. When she looked up, the gnomes did the same and turned their attention to the next person whose clothes they wanted to see.

This time, it ended up being Hook. Nodding at the eager faces, he stepped forward at the same time as Emma did and they passed close by each other in opposite directions.

"It suits you, love," he murmured as he passed her while she was looking down to make sure she didn't trip on a particularly pointy rock. Emma shot a startled look in his direction at the unexpected compliment. She was usually much better prepared for one of his comments, but that one had caught her off-guard. It wasn't as if the outfit was anything special, which was exactly the point. Not that he'd ever said anything to her related to her appearance (well, except that 'Hey, beautiful' when she'd found him on the road. But that didn't count because he'd just been grateful that someone had noticed his presence). What she needed right now was practical. So to be…complimented, for lack of a better word, on her appearance when she hadn't really been thinking about it had been a surprise. But then again, wasn't Hook just full of surprises lately?

Ignoring the confusion that had resulted from his words, Emma schooled her features and approached the rest of the group. Turning, she waited with them for Hook to come out.

When he did, the gnomes cheered yet again and he looked…exactly the same. Except for his vest. Instead of his typical black leather, he'd asked for a red leather vest instead. It was actually pretty ornate, too. Granted, he did have a flair for the dramatic, but it seemed even more fancy than usual to her. More…shiny. And the pattern on the fabric of the vest was pretty detailed, too.

Hook made a flourishing bow to the gnomes and made his way to where the rest of his group was gathered.

Emma raised an eyebrow as he reached them. "Red?" she wondered aloud.

The pirate grinned mischievously. "A rather good choice if I happen to get injured, don't you think?"

The blonde woman gave the vest another cursory glance. "In that case, black would've been better," she pronounced.

"You wound me, lass," Hook responded. Emma rolled her eyes and he chuckled lightly.

"She has a point, though," Regina threw in. "The red will just make you stand out more."

This time, it was Hook who raised an eyebrow. "So claims the woman who chose a rather brilliant shade of violet." Regina pressed her lips together in clear annoyance, but was stopped from speaking further by Snow.

"Well, I guess it's our turn," she chirped before things got out of hand.

Emma turned to her mother. "Our?" she echoed uncomfortably.

Snow took Charming's hand. "Yes, _our_. We'll change at the same time, if that's all right with the village," she answered. The gnomes cheered and Snow turned a wide grin on the group. "I guess that's a yes."

She confidently led her husband through the crowd. When they reached the large buildings, he went to the left as she went to the right. Just before they went in, Charming bowed to his wife as Snow executed a curtsy. Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes one more time. Had that really been necessary? But at the same time, she found herself grinning at the spectacle that was her parents.

"Your parents are quite the amusing lovebirds, are they not?" asked Hook out of the blue.

"You could say that. But I guess it's not that big of a surprise considering how long they were apart," Emma responded. Hook nodded and the conversation ended as Snow and Charming came back out.

Emma couldn't help but be engrossed in her parents' reactions to each other. Her father's face first registered shock, awe, amazement and then a wide grin spread across his face. Her mother, meanwhile, looked her husband up and down as a grin Emma could only call naughty crossed her face,, making her daughter distinctly uncomfortable. For whatever reason, the blonde woman glanced in Hook's direction to catch him glance from her parents to her as he raised an eyebrow. Unwilling to let him see just how flustered she was by her parents' behavior, Emma returned her attention to them and took in their choice of clothes.

Her father had apparently decided to return to his princely Enchanted Forest roots. Though maybe not as lavish as she would have expected it to be, there was no denying the royal influence, although Emma couldn't help but notice that it was pretty similar to Hook's getup, at least in terms of the amount of leather. Charming had settled on a black leather vest with wide shoulders and leather pants, which looked sort of ridiculous when paired with his Storybrooke shoes. The dark shirt he wore beneath it had an open neck, but much less open than Hook's, and had a high collar which nearly reached his jawline. The sword he'd gotten from the Jolly Roger hung from his hip in a carefully crafted sheath, which was embroidered with flowers that looked an awful lot like the tattoo on Emma's wrist…

Snow's new wardrobe, contrary to her husband's attempt to reclaim his Enchanted Forest status, was more of a combination of her fairytale roots and her new identity as Storybrooke's Mary Margaret. From what Emma could tell, she'd opted for something along the lines of the practicality of her fugitive clothing mixed with some of the feminine touches that had characterized her Storybrooke wardrobe. For example, her shirt, covered with a long, dove gray hooded jacket, had the lower neckline Emma recognized from Henry's book, but had lace around the cuffs which made her think of Mary Margaret. Her black pants had multiple pockets that somehow melded into them seamlessly. The gnomes really knew what they were doing…

Charming put his hand out to Snow, who took it and was subsequently twirled by her husband. Breathless with laughter, she turned to her daughter.

"Well, Emma, what do you think?" she asked with a happy smile.

"I think I need some brain bleach after that," Emma answered dryly. A good portion of the gnomes laughed (even though Emma didn't think they knew what she was talking about), as did Charming and Hook. Even Mr. Gold couldn't hide the slight upturn of one corner of his mouth. Regina, of course maintained a sour expression. Emma assumed it was because her mother's outfit reminded her of what had happened in the past. "But I think it's the perfect outfit for you," she continued honestly.

"Thank you," Snow replied, her face taking on a nostalgic expression as she looked down at her new clothes.

"Well, that was quite a lovely fashion show," Rumpelstiltskin commented, "But I have more pressing issues to attend to, such as my _grandson's kidnapping_." He turned to head back into the jungle, but hesitated when Charming shouted at him to stop.

"We know," the prince said when Gold paused and turned his head just enough to look at them from the corner of his eye. "We know," he repeated. He turned to Hook. "We need to get going."

The pirate stared at him through narrowed eyes, then nodded almost imperceptibly. "Aye." He turned to the gnomes, who were already looking glum. "My good friends," he addressed them, "I'm afraid our time here has come to an end." The gnomes made a universal sound that was almost like a whine. Well, except for the children, who most definitely DID whine. And start crying. Loudly. Hook raised his hands, calling for quiet, which was immediately granted, though some sniffles could still be heard.

"As I have told Terran, we are in search of a boy captured by the Shadow." The gnomes murmured darkly amongst themselves. "We must reach the Palace of the 6 Princes before nightfall. We greatly appreciate your generosity, but must be on our way in order to achieve our goal. A child's life is at stake." At the last comment, some of the gnomes pulled their own children slightly closer.

Terran came out of the throng and approached the pirate somberly. When he put his hand out, Hook bent over just enough to shake his hand. "Thank you," the gnome chief said, "I hope we will see you again someday, my friend. And I wish you luck in your quest."

Hook nodded at Terran's well wishes, then turned to the group. "Let's go, it's time we away," he said.

"We just need to grab our other clothes," Snow replied. She scurried over to the impromptu changing room, as did Charming. When they emerged, he handed her the clothes and she stowed it away in her bag.

"We're ready," she said.

Once again, Hook nodded and approached Rumpelstiltskin, who was still facing the path that would lead to the palace. A short staredown, and the pirate stood aside to allow the wizard to lead…temporarily, Emma felt. In single file, the sextet went toward the trees, the Charming family waving at the gnomes as they chorused their goodbyes, Hook following behind.


	5. Ch 3, The 6 Princes Palace (Part 1)

_**Ch. 3: The 6 Princes' Palace (Part 1)**_

As they proceeded through the jungle, Emma became acutely aware that the farther to the center of the island they got, the darker it got. The path became extremely narrow in some spots, choked up by the vegetation, nearly disappearing completely at some points. The trees became even bigger, which she hadn't thought possible. Some of them were so large that 10 people (maybe even more) would have been needed to completely encircle them in an awkward hug. Some spots on the path required Hook to draw out his sword and hack away at vines intent on strangling them, they were hanging so low.

When Emma had moved forward next to him and mentioned this, the pirate had cheerily announced that some vines actually _were_ trying to strangle them, at which point they would be drawn into the treetops to be consumed. Having heard this, Emma and the others (except Mr. Gold, of course) had edged closer to the middle of the path and closer to each other, which occasionally made things…cramped and clumsy. More than once, one person tripped, leading to near calamity when it would have a domino effect, making nearly everyone else fall over, too. And sometimes, they would stumble and end up way too close to other suspicious-looking plants with thorns as long as a human arm. Hook didn't need to warn them about those.

Occasionally, Emma would glance at her watch to see how much time had passed, though she knew it didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Of course, while they'd been avoiding those threatening plants, she'd been focused too much on staying alive to really check. When Hook announced an all-clear (for who knew how long), she checked her watch again. Only two hours?! It felt more like a week in this heat with all of these dangerous plants!

"Um, Hook…exactly how far are we from this palace you want to go to?" she asked the pirate when they paused in a small clearing long enough for her to get enough air in her lungs to talk.

"Mm, not much longer, Swan," Hook answered somewhat distractedly as he peered through the trees. Emma swore she saw a glint of…something between the trunks where he was looking. As she turned her attention to him, she saw his eyes widen in alarm.

"GET DOWN!" he suddenly bellowed, lunging at her and bringing her down to the ground. Emma had to bite back a shout as a sharp rock gouged her hand.

Around them, other bodies hit the ground as well. Snow yanked on Regina's arm and brought her down, earning a yelp from the former queen. Charming had quickly (and rather gracefully) gotten down as soon as Hook had shouted. Rumpelstiltskin, on the other hand, barely budged, a magical barrier erupting around him and stopping the…huge silver knife? Emma had thought it was an arrow or something like that, judging by how quick it had been…

"Behind those trees!" Hook shouted as he leveraged himself off the ground. He pulled out his sword and began deflecting a sudden flood of arrows as well as he could. Emma could her them whizzing around, but decided to focus on getting to the trees he'd indicated. Snow helped Regina get off the ground while Charming stood and pulled out his sword. Like Hook, he also began deflecting the arrows.

"A little help here, Gold?!" the prince called out at the magician, who remained behind his barrier. The older man glanced in his direction contemplatively, then sighed, raised his hand, and erected a larger barrier in front of the two warriors. A few arrows suspiciously snuck through and made their way to Hook, but they were in small enough numbers that he was able to avoid them. As a result, the group was able to retreat behind the trees, though Hook remained out in the open facing the assault, his sword at the ready as the barrier dropped.

Out of the trees across from them came lavishly dressed men, either aiming their bows and arrows in the sextet's general direction or holding knives and swords up. While the bowmen wore what looked like very solid vests, those holding the other weapons had shields.

"What are you doing here, pirate?" snarled the largest of the men, who wore a huge feather on his helmet. Emma assumed he was the leader.

"I come in peace," Hook answered, putting his sword away and keeping his hands out where the soldiers could see them. Most of the soldiers laughed aloud at the pirate's pronouncement. Those that didn't merely gave him a hard glare.

"In peace?" the leader repeated. "Pirates have never come here peacefully, especially the likes of_ you_, Hook."

"Ah yes, those raids. Quite necessary, I assure you. I'm sure you understand, I couldn't very well let my men starve," Hook responded with an apologetic smile. "But that is not what I am here for today."

"What else could you possibly want to do here?" sneered another of the men.

"Well, that's actually what they're here for," the pirate replied, gesturing toward the trees where the group was hiding. "They need information from the princes."

"The princes do not accept visitors without a formal invitation, or at the very least advance notice. Do any of you have permission to approach them?"

"None of us, actually, but this is a pressing matter-" Hook continued, before being interrupted.

"Then you shall not pass," announced the leader. "Men, arrest them."

As the men approached their hiding spot, Snow shocked Emma by springing out and standing confidently facing the soldiers. Taken aback, the soldiers stopped in midstep.

"I am Snow White, a princess of the Enchanted Forest," she stated loudly. Reaching over, she yanked her husband up by his arm. "This is my husband, David. And the dark-haired woman on my right is a queen of that very same forest, though a different kingdom. We are searching for her son, who has landed here in Neverland somewhere. We request the princes' cooperation in finding him."

Emma understood that her mother was trying to keep things as uncomplicated and under cover as possible, but the fact that she only referred to Henry as Regina's son still stung a bit. However, she knew it was necessary, whether she liked it or not, so she made a mental note to keep her connection to Henry under wraps while they were at the palace…if they made it that far.

As Emma thought about this, Regina took the hint at Snow White's introduction and stood. Lightly dusting off her clothing, she proudly faced the soldiers the same way as Snow did. Emma noticed that several of the mens' attention seemed transfixed by the former evil queen and she was forced to suppress a snort. If only they knew…

"My son was kidnapped and brought here to Neverland. He is my only heir, and thus it is necessary that I retrieve him posthaste," she declared, eyeing them with a regal, though dangerous gaze. "And anyone who prevents me from rescuing him will be severely punished." At the last sentence, she produced a ball of fire in her hand and looked at it lovingly, then returned her attention to the men. "Am I understood?"

Several of the soldiers shifted uncomfortably as she turned her eyes on them. The leader, however, stood his ground.

"Though your predicament is…regrettable, I cannot permit you to see them. They are very strict when it comes to their visitors and-"he was cut off as Regina poofed out of her spot next to Snow White and reappeared in front of him.

"Are you telling me you are stopping me from finding my son?" she asked lowly. He gulped, then steeled his face and nodded.

"What a shame," Regina said sweetly before reaching into his chest and yanking out his heart. He gasped and his soldiers, not to mention the Charmings, shouted in alarm. When he realized he was somehow still alive, he patted his chest where his heart should have been and looked at the evil queen incredulously. Stepping back and turning the heart over in her hand, she investigated it. "This heart is rather pure for a soldier. It must be that loyalty you have." She squeezed it lightly and the man yelled, then collapsed.

"REGINA! STOP!" Emma exclaimed as she burst from the trees. The sorceress turned to look at her, but made sure to keep the soldier in sight.

"Are you telling me I should spare someone who stands between me and my son?" Regina asked.

"Yes," the blonde woman steadfastly answered.

"Would you do the same if it were _your_ son?" the former queen challenged her.

At that question, Emma froze. Would she? Her heart sank as she realized that Regina was right. Maybe she wouldn't kill someone for getting between her and Henry, but…hadn't she been contemplating ways to punish Tamara and Greg when she found them in the brief instances that she'd had time to think? And hadn't some of those ways been more Regina's style? She couldn't admit that out loud…so she lied.

"No," she answered solidly. She was glad she was the only one who could sense lies. "I have a better idea."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Regina sneered. As she squeezed the heart a little tighter, the man on the ground groaned and looked at Emma with pleading eyes.

"Don't crush his heart," the blonde woman answered, "We'll use it as a bargaining piece."

Regina considered this option. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Although the idea made Emma a little nauseous, it was the only chance for survival that the man had, so she continued, "He leads us to the princes, lets us speak to them, and we return his heart."

"And if he doesn't?" the evil queen wondered aloud.

Emma fought the bile rising in her throat and tried to avoid imagining what would happen. She voiced the alternative option in the most neutral terms she could think of. "He takes his life into his own hands," she said vaguely.

Though Regina pursed her lips, clearly displeased with the way Emma had described her plan, she looked down at the prone man on the ground, who was breathing heavily and watching her with fear in his eyes. Pleased to see this, she smiled in that dangerous way of hers.

"Well, then, you heard what she said. So what's your choice? Lead us to the princes and live? Or…"she trailed off, squeezing the heart again, "You take your life into your own hands."

The man panted at the pain constricting his chest. "I'll…lead...you..."he breathed heavily.

"Good choice," Regina replied with a smirk. Her grip on the heart loosened. "Lead the way."

The soldier struggled to his feet, his chest still tight. A few of his men braved Regina's displeasure and went to him, helping him get upright. When he was almost standing, it became clear he wouldn't be able to walk without assistance. His soldiers glanced fearfully at the woman holding his heart, but remained by his side. Carefully, they took small steps in the direction they had come from.

"This way," their leader spoke, his voice heavy from the effort.

"Are you sure, sir?" asked one of his carriers worriedly, glancing over their shoulders at the group that was uncomfortably following them.

"Are you questioning my orders, soldier? Do you have a better idea?" gritted out the suffering man, still somehow able to put enough force behind the words that his subordinate didn't bother challenging his decision.

As he continued to slowly lead everyone in the direction of what was assumed to be the princes' palace, a tense silence dominated the atmosphere. No one was sure of Regina's next move. Though she'd agreed to abide by Emma's plan, she WAS still the Evil Queen, and an Evil Queen even more on the edge than usual thanks to Henry's kidnapping. Emma kept a close eye on her, just in case she decided to renege on the deal.

As they walked, Hook somehow found his way to Emma's side again while the others walked ahead. She was so focused on making sure Regina didn't crush the soldier's heart that she missed the whispered comment the pirate made.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to hear him better as she kept her gaze on Regina.

"Your hand is cut again, isn't it?" Hook repeated. At the comment, Emma's eyes widened and she momentarily forgot what she was doing, turning her head to look at him sharply.

"I don't think we need to worry about any bloodthirsty, vegetarian giants finding us," she replied dryly.

A slight grin crossed Hook's face. "Perhaps not, but there are other concerns. For one, there's the risk of infection. For another, there _are_ things here in Neverland that can sense blood."

Emma looked at her hand, contemplating the cut. It really wasn't that bad. Then she remembered some documentaries she'd watched once talking about all the bad things that could happen if a cut got infected in the jungle. She blew out a breath irritably. "So what would you recommend, Captain?"

"Well, I could take the responsibility for the result of my own actions, and wrap it for you-"

"No!" Emma exclaimed a little too loudly. Her parents turned to look at her curiously and she gave them a reassuring smile. It seemed to do the trick, because though they were clearly still confused, they seemed to shrug it off and continued on their way. She turned to glare at Hook when she was sure they weren't watching.

"No," she hissed, "Do you have any _other_ ideas?"

The far-too-amused grin that had snuck onto his face when she'd…well, not shouted, but loudly voiced her reaction, remained in place even though he offered an alternative option.

"Well, lass, I do happen to have a clean kerchief if you would prefer to wrap your own hand."

"Give it," Emma demanded, putting her good hand out. Hook chuckled, reached into his vest and withdrew the cloth.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some assistance, love?" he purred as he offered it to her.

"Yes," the blonde woman answered as she snatched it from him.

"You should probably still wash it," Hook commented helpfully. Emma stopped in the process of wrapping the cloth to the right size. Mentally, she cursed, because he was right. But she really didn't want to bring attention to the injury by asking for water from her mother. While she tried to figure out what to do, a canteen was passed in front of her face. Surprised, she turned to Hook, who pointedly looked at his canteen.

"Are you sure?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"Better than having a princess expire while her protective warrior parents are nearby," Hook quipped.

Emma couldn't help a slight grin from crossing her face at the truth of his words as she took the canteen and poured a bit of it onto her cut. Her parents _wouldn't_ take very well to her becoming incapacitated, would they? Still…"Don't call me that," she warned him as she passed back the water, "I'm definitely no princess."

The mischief in Hook's face faded slightly and a softness crossed his features which took Emma off-guard. She didn't know what to make of it. "I beg to differ, lass."

"Beg all you want, it won't change anything," she replied smartly as she took her attention away from him and wrapped her hand as best as she could. Another low chuckle escaped Hook, but he didn't comment any further. Deciding their conversation was over, Emma returned her attention to Regina, making sure she didn't change her mind and do something everyone else would regret.

Thankfully, as it turned out, they didn't have to worry about Regina changing her mind. After about a half hour's trek, according to what Emma could tell from her watch, the soldiers stopped. By this time, the leader had sufficiently recovered from Regina's actions to stand up without help. Turning to the group, he cast a worried glance in the queen's direction. Raising an eyebrow, she lifted her hand so he could see that she still had a very firm grip on his heart. Visibly swallowing, he pulled his gaze away from her to address the rest of the group.

"I won't take you any farther-," he announced. Regina's face hardened as she prepared to squeeze the heart again, but Emma grabbed her arm to prevent her from doing so. She turned her attention to the soldier.

"Why?" she asked carefully.

The soldier fidgeted a bit, practically hyperventilating from his near miss, but his face showed his frustration. "If the _lovely queen_ had permitted me to continue without being so quick to threaten me, if I go any closer and the princes were to discover my betrayal, I would be sentencing my men to a terrible fate. I cannot do that. Thus I will take you no further. You must go the rest of the way yourselves."

"Miss Swan, I recommend you remove your hand from my person," Regina growled when he finished, clearly furious.

"No," Emma stated. "Give it back to him."

"WHAT?!" the former queen screeched. "He hasn't taken us—"

"Well, he did abide by the deal," Mr. Gold interrupted her. The group turned to him, Regina with outraged eyes.

"What are you talking about?!" she shouted.

"We only asked him to lead us to the princes. He did. And without may I add," the sorcerer answered coolly.

Charming intervened before Regina exploded. "He's right, Regina. And who knows more about deals than Rumpelstiltskin?"

The former queen glared daggers at both men. Just as she seemed ready to ignore them both and crush the heart, it poofed out of her hand and reappeared in Mr. Gold's. He calmly strolled to the lead soldier, who had stiffened as soon as the heart had switched hands. He was sweating profusely, but remained in place, standing his ground.

"I believe this belongs to you. If I may?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, loosely holding the heart in front of the other man. Looking down at it, then back at the older man's suddenly kindly face, the soldier nodded weakly. The magician comfortably stretched his arm out further and replaced the heart in its original location. When it was in place, he withdrew his hand and the soldier clutched at his chest, breathing heavily.

"You can go now," Mr. Gold said carelessly, waving his hand vaguely. The leader of the soldiers nodded, then, with a tilt of his head and grateful look at the man with the cane, took his men away.

As the last of the men disappeared, Regina charged her former mentor. Mildly amused, he watched her storm up to him.

"How could you override me like that?" she hissed, furious, "You're supposed to be on MY side."

Rumpelstiltskin surveyed her distantly. "I don't' recall ever saying I would be on your side, Regina. The only orders I follow are my own."

"Everything was FINE until you interfered," she growled.

"In sparing his life, we may have gained a valuable ally," Mr. Gold commented, then turned to the rest of the group. "Don't you agree?"

The others shifted, but eventually nodded. Regina let out a disgusted shout at everyone's quick agreement with Gold.

"Now that that's settled," Hook inserted, "Shall we go to the palace? The longer we lollygag, the longer it'll take to find the lad."

At the reminder, Regina calmed a bit. They were right, they wouldn't get anywhere at this rate…"Fine," she said sharply. Then she glared at Rumpelstiltskin. "But I won't forget this insult."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Mr. Gold replied. He turned in the general direction they had been heading before the leader of the soldiers had stopped. "How much farther,_ Captain_?"

The pirate narrowed his eyes, but didn't take the bait. "The wall surrounding the village shouldn't be much farther. However, the gates are from the opposite side of the island. We'll have to scale the wall ourselves."

"Why not just walk around to the gates?" Emma asked.

Hook raised an eyebrow. "You saw how those soldiers recognized me. Seeing as the village likely hasn't changed since my last…er…visit, I doubt the citizens would welcome my…reappearance."

"I wouldn't," mumbled Charming under his breath, but just loud enough to hear.

"How tall are the walls?" asked Snow, ignoring her husband's comment.

The pirate briefly contemplated the question. He looked up and down as if trying to recall just how tall the walls had been. Eventually, he pointed to a nearby tree that was about 4 stories tall. "Roughly the height of that tree," he told the assembled group.

"How will we get over it? It's not like we have rope or something. And some of us would have a harder time than others," Emma commented, looking pointedly at Hook, who raised an eyebrow.

"Probably a good thing," grumbled Charming. Snow and Emma threw him identical exasperated looks.

Hook ignored the Charming family's antics and answered Emma's question."We'll use some of the vines from the jungle."

"The tricky part will be finding a way to get the vines over the wall and keeping them up..." Snow trailed off as she looked around. She didn't see anything which could be useful.

Emma, meanwhile, allowed her own eyes to travel around. They landed on the pirate's hook. She contemplated it momentarily, then raised her gaze to Hook's. His eyes widened minutely and she knew he'd read her thoughts. She raised an eyebrow at him and a devious grin crossed her face.

"I don't think so, lass," Hook told her warningly.

"Emma? Do you have an idea?" Snow asked. Slowly, Emma turned to her mother.

"Why don't we use his hook?" she offered, tilting her head in Hook's direction. Snow's gaze dropped to the pirate's hook. As it did, Hook lifted it and protectively clutched it in his hand.

"No," Hook simply stated, a challenge in his eyes.

"But, Hook, it's not like we have anything else we could use," Emma cajoled.

"We haven't even reached the walls yet. I daresay that ought to be our first goal," Hook replied.

"Well, I believe Miss Swan's idea to be quite genius," Rumpelstiltskin commented.

"Yeah, I think it's our best choice," Charming replied, unusually enthusiastic, "Great idea, Emma."

Hook's scowl deepened at the comments of the other men. Turning, he began to head through the forest again. "First, let's find a place to climb," he stated lowly.

It wasn't long before they reached the walls that Hook had talked about. He'd been right about the height, but the walls were like nothing Emma had imagined. Looking at the other faces, she could tell she wasn't the only one.

The walls were not like what she had seen at her parents' castle in the Enchanted Forest. Whereas those walls had been built from uniform blocks and had been thick enough that five people could walk side by side across the top and still have room to move comfortably, these were completely different. Shorter, they were mostly built from rocks of all different sizes, and the top reminded her of crocodile's teeth with how crooked they were. From what Emma could tell, they weren't very thick, either. She wondered if even one person could walk across the top. And these things were supposed to offer protection?

"The princes and village have had little need for protection from the outside," Hook told the group. A wicked, nostalgic grin crossed his face, "Well, except for me of course."

"They're enchanted," Regina bluntly said. The rest of the group turned to her.

"Are you sure, Regina?" Snow asked.

The former evil queen turned to Rumpelstiltskin. "Well?" she inquired with a regal brow.

"For once, Regina is right," the Dark One answered. "The walls have been enchanted to keep outsiders where they belong."

"So what do we do now?" asked Charming.

"Well, if you asked me nicely, I could remove the enchantment," Mr. Gold replied breezily.

"Are you serious?" Regina demanded.

"Quite," he answered.

"Why?" the sorceress wondered aloud. "Henry is your _grandson_, why do we even have to ask?!"

"Please, Mr. Gold, could you remove the enchantment?" Snow suddenly blurted, cutting off any response he could have made.

Surprise lit the man's features for a brief instant before the usual mask replaced it and he turned to the wall. Raising one hand, a purple mist surrounded it. As he concentrated, the mist left his hand and approached the wall. When it got within about a foot of it, electricity suddenly appeared and met the mist, as if blocking it from getting any closer. With a bit more concentration, the mist pushed forward until the electricity was forced back to the wall, where it disappeared. Once it did, the mist traveled up and spread just wide enough for one person to climb.

Apparently satisfied with his work, Gold turned to the group. "Who shall be the first?"

"First," Emma said, turning to Hook. She reached out her hand, "Your hook?"

Hook scowled. 'If you are to use my hook as your means of getting the vine to the top of the wall, how am _I_ to climb?"

"Easy," the blonde woman answered, "Once everyone gets over the wall, one of us will stay at the top and throw your hook down to you. With a long enough vine, the rest of us will hold onto one end to keep it in place while you climb up the other portion."

"And I am to believe that they would willingly assist me in this endeavor?" Hook asked incredulously, pointedly moving his eyes from the others to her and raising his eyebrow.

Emma stretched out her hand even closer. "Trust me," she told him.

The dark-haired man was thrown off kilter by her sincere request. He didn't know if she realized what she'd just said. He hesitated, glancing at the rest of the group, who watched to see what he would do. Returning his gaze to an expectant Emma, seeing that she was entirely focused on him, he let out a breath. Lifting his hook, he unhitched it, keeping his eyes on the woman who'd risked challenging a pirate multiple times. Removing the hook, he carefully placed it in her waiting hand, but didn't release it right away.

"I hope I can, Emma," he told her solemnly.

At the comment, not to mention the retrospective disappointment in his blue gaze, Emma realized exactly what she'd just said. Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. She'd basically just set her foot in a minefield, hadn't she? She'd been worried about trusting him and now she was asking him to trust her? Could she be any more of a hypocrite?

Not sure what else to do, Emma nodded and grasped his hook carefully, feeling its weight in her hand. "Which vines?" she asked.

Hook was silent for a moment and she could feel his gaze on her. When he lifted it, she lifted her own eyes to look in the direction he was searching. Instead of telling her which vines to use, though, he walked over to some trees, pulled out his sword and hacked at them as they tried to grab him. The sections that he slashed off fell limply to the ground, twitched a bit, then lay still. By the time he was done, a small pile had gathered at his feet.

"I'm afraid you'll have to tie them back together," Hook commented, "But I believe that ought to be enough."

The group looked at each other, then back at him, comically shocked expressions on their faces.

"You want US to put those things together?" Regina angrily asked.

Hook raised his now empty stump. "Can't very well do it myself, now can I?"

Though Regina fumed, together with Snow and Charming, she gathered the vines and arranged them as best as she could in a straight line. When she noticed that Rumpelstiltskin was idly standing by, she stood and spread her arms.

"A little help here?" she demanded.

"Oh, I think you're doing quite well without my assistance," Gold replied cheerily.

"At the very least, you can help me put this…_thing_ back together," Regina practically growled as she began to use her magic to merge the vines into one.

Rumpel rolled his eyes and with a single flash of magic, put it all together. He raised his eyebrows as if to say 'There, happy now?' Regina harrumphed and turned to the group as Emma tied the hook to the vine as best as she could.

"Well? Who's throwing it?" she asked. The others looked around with thoughtful expressions.

"Charming, could you throw the…hook…" Snow looked at the pirate apologetically, then turned back to her husband and pointed at the top of the wall, "Over that rock sticking up over there? I think it's our best chance."

The prince appraised said rock carefully. "It might work. Don't know how many tries, it'll take, though."

"The fewer, the better," Hook quipped.

Charming gave him a dirty look as he accepted the vine and hook from his daughter. Turning his attention to the wall, he whirled the new tool over his head and chucked it as well as he could at the rock that Snow had indicated…And missed.

As Hook and Regina snickered, Charming tried again…And missed. Then tried again…aaand missed. At this point, the pirate and evil queen were practically doubled over, wheezing with laughter. Emma felt a grin tug at the corner of her mouth as she watched them and her father's frustration. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep it from spreading. But when he missed yet again, she couldn't help the laugh that managed to escape her. When he heard her, Charming turned and raised his eyebrows in rebuke. She snorted.

"Sorry," she almost giggled. "Try one more time."

The prince shook his head at her amusement, then focused on the wall again. Twirling the vine and hook over his head, he threw it—and succeeded. Snow cheered and even Emma was tempted to pump her fist. Charming turned around with a smug smile on his face.

"Who's first?" he asked proudly.


	6. Ch 3, The 6 Princes' Palace (Part 2)

_****__**Ch. 3: The 6 Princes' Palace (Part 2)**_

"I'll go," Regina announced as she stepped forward. The others observed her skeptically. Catching their looks, she bristled. "Is there a problem?" she queried, a challenge in her voice.

"Regina…maybe someone ought to get up there first to help you, just in case?" Emma ventured to ask.

"I'm perfectly capable of climbing a vine," the dark-haired woman declared.

"I agree with Miss Swan," Rumpelstiltskin offered helpfully. "You weren't exactly climbing ropes in the Enchanted forest, dearie."

Regina opened her mouth to argue when Snow butted in.

"I'll go first," the runaway princess said. The sorceress' mouth snapped closed. Fury glowing in her eyes, she turned on Snow.

"You stay out of this," she hissed.

"No," Snow calmly stood her ground, aiming a defiant glance at her stepmother. "They're right, Regina. It would be safer for you if someone was already at the top, just in case the hook comes loose."

"Oh?" Regina sneered, "And why should it be any different for you?"

Snow looked her dead in the eye. "I have my arrows in case it does come loose. I can use them to at least slow down a fall."

"And I have my magic," the former evil queen replied smugly.

"But you probably wouldn't know if it was loose ahead of time," the archer answered calmly, "Would you be able to act quickly enough to save yourself if you didn't already know something was wrong?"

"Perfectly capable," Regina gritted out.

"I say let the queen prove herself," Hook suddenly commented. Everyone turned to look at him as if he'd grown a second head, except for Regina, who just looked shocked that someone would speak up for her. Especially considering how she'd basically left him for dead.

"Since when are you her champion?" Charming demanded.

"I'm not," Hook answered blandly, "But I quite tire of all the bickering. If she fails, the worst that can happen is we'd have a corpse to bury." Regina's face morphed to one of disgust, but he continued. "If she succeeds, we'll have taken one more step toward finding Henry."

The group exchanged unsure glances. Finally, Emma spoke. "Go, Regina," she said.

Regina raised her chin higher at the agreement, then turned and headed toward the wall. Just as she grasped the vine, Emma spoke again.

"But you better be ready to help the rest of us if we need it," the blonde woman warned. The former queen didn't react to the warning, but Emma knew she'd heard. Besides, she would need them to get out of Neverland with Henry unharmed. Or at least relatively unharmed, she thought ruefully, recalling all that had been said—and unsaid—about Neverland.

Regina made her way up the wall slowly. Obnoxiously slowly. She really didn't have a clue about climbing, did she? Especially considering all the swearing she did on her way up. After what seemed an eternity, she finally made it to the top.

"How wide is it up there, Regina?" Snow called up to her.

"Enough," the witch answered, then settled herself in as comfortably as she could while she waited for the rest of the group to make their way up. As she waited, she turned herself enough to look at what lay beyond the wall. There wasn't much. She could make out a castle much smaller than the one she'd ruled made up of a mix of sandy and gray rocks, with some pink ones that looked a lot like the ones they'd seen in that first clearing they'd hit. The village itself was very small. And suspiciously empty. Eyeing the buildings, Regina looked for a sign of movement from them. Occasionally, she would glimpse something in the windows, but it was far and few between. It was eerie, even for her. She wondered if it had really been necessary for them to climb the wall…

As she tried to understand the situation, Emma made it over the wall. Letting out a breath, she noticed Regina's observations.

"Are they already coming after us?" she asked as she looked into the village. Wrinkles formed on her forehead as she noticed the same thing that Regina had—there wasn't much going on down there. "That's weird…"she murmured.

They didn't have much time to dwell on the strangeness as Snow, Charming, and Rumpelstiltskin took their turns climbing the vine. Finally, it was Hook's turn.

"We could just leave him down there," Charming offered quietly.

"I have no problem with that proposition," Gold responded.

"No," Emma answered, "We_ need_ his help." Charming scowled, but didn't argue. Making sure the others had a firm grip on the vine to keep it from slipping to the ground, Emma reached for the hook where it was stuck in the rock. Though it took some effort, she managed to yank it out and untie it from the vine.

"Are you ready, Hook?" she called down to the pirate waiting at the bottom of the wall.

"I'm always ready for you, lass," Hook called back with a mischievous grin. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Watch out," she warned as she threw the hook at him. It hit the ground not a foot in front of him. She saw that eyebrow of his go up and couldn't help the naughty smile that crept onto her face. He reattached the hook to his arm as he approached the vine. Looking up cautiously, he grabbed it with his good hand and prepped to climb.

Hook made it up the vine faster than any of the others. Emma was somewhat surprised, considering how long it had taken them to get up the beanstalk...she stiffened. Had he...? But then...? He'd purposely held himself back because of her? Considering how quickly he'd scaled the wall and recalling how long it had taken them to get up the beanstalk, Emma guessed that he could have gotten to the giant and the compass long before her. Why had he bothered to keep up with her?

She didn't have much time to think about the implications as Hook looked out over the village and stiffened.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"It's too quiet," the pirate murmured ominously.

"So it wasn't like this before?" Snow wondered.

"Not quite," Hook answered as he scanned the buildings with narrowed eyes.

"Someone's down there, I've seen movement in the windows," Regina commented as she looked over the village herself.

"So did I," Emma added in.

"When I was here last, the village was infinitely more bustling..." Hook said, "We had best practice caution."

"So how do we get in?" Snow asked as her gaze took in the palace contemplatively.

"Have we gotten beyond the magical barrier?" the pirate asked, though he didn't directly address anyone.

Regina and Rumpelstiltskin looked at each other. "Yes," Regina responded.

"Are there any other enchantments within the village?" Hook queried.

Mr. Gold darted a disgruntled glance at him, then turned his attention back to the village at the same moment Regina did. Several seconds of silence passed as they perused it. Finally, the sorceror spoke.

"Nothing between us and the castle," he answered.

"It's a trap," Hook declared. The group looked to him incredulously.

"So they would have to know we're coming," Emma murmured.

"Not necessarily us," Hook replied dryly.

"What do you mean?" Regina asked suspiciously.

"Well, they could be prepared to greet us or they have merely lightened their security since hearing that I left," Hook explained, "Though there's always the distinct possibility that they've arranged a trap for someone else and we just so happen to be the lucky ones who came across it first. Quite a few options, really, take your pick."

The group mulled over what the pirate had said. He did have a point, it could be for all of them or none of them…

"So what do we do now?" Snow wondered.

"We approach with caution, of course," Hook responded.

"So do we go as a group or one by one?" Emma queried.

"I'm thinking either small groups or one by one," her mother suggested, "That way there's always someone to keep an eye out or defend should something happen."

Hook looked at the runaway princess with admiration. "Aye, that would probably be best," he told them.

"I don't know if pairs are a great idea, though," Emma thought aloud.

"What do you mean?" Charming asked his daughter curiously.

"Well, wouldn't that bring more attention to us? Pairs of people wandering around a town that's practically deserted? Going toward the palace?" the blonde woman continued.

"But if we got the wrong attention, we'd have immediate backup," the prince pointed out.

Emma wasn't able to argue that truth. Though she glanced around warily at the rest of the group, she nodded. "Then how do we split up?"

"Well, pairs would be best, not groups," Snow replied thoughtfully. "Charming, you go with Mr. Gold. I'll go with Regina and Emma can go with Hook."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed one prince and one former queen.

"Snow, I'm going with you," Charming said with finality.

"No, I'm going with Regina," Snow retorted.

"Why? She's more likely to help your attackers instead of you!" replied her husband. Regina's face hardened as she prepared to confront him, but was cut off as Snow spoke up.

"She's already done her worst," she explained, unconsciously reaching her hand up to rest it over her heart as a sad look crossed her face. Seconds later, it cleared and was replaced by a stubborn look. "What more could she do?"

"Oh, I don't know, _kill you_!?" Charming suggested angrily.

"She won't," Snow answered firmly.

"Why should I bother trying to kill her when she's killing herself?" Regina commented, a dark smirk crossing her face. The prince threw a furious glare in her direction at the reminder of what she'd done to Snow and his wife's subsequent reaction. She raised an eyebrow, "It isn't as if that was MY fault."

Charming turned away from her before he let himself do something he'd regret. "Snow," he addressed her urgently, "Why Regina?"

"It all goes back to that whole magic thing," Snow replied, "If we're going to go in pairs, and considering that we've already run into one magical barrier, it would be best if each pair had one person with magic."

"If you insist, then I'll go with Emma," Charming declared.

"And put Hook with Mr. Gold? They may have called a truce, but I have a feeling one would kill the other given the chance," his wife answered dubiously.

"Quite likely," Rumpelstiltskin chimed in.

"Then Regina can go with Hook, I'll go with Mr. Gold, and you go with Emma," Charming offered.

Snow rolled her eyes in a way eerily similar to her daughter's. "Okay, fine."

"Together again, eh, Regina?" Hook drawled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. The former evil queen threw him a disdainful glare, but a shimmer of something nervous underlay it.

"Hook, you and Regina go first," Emma suggested, missing the tension that passed between the two former partners because of her focus on lowering the vine over the other side of the wall.

"As you wish, Swan," Hook replied. He gestured Regina toward the vine as Emma secured it. "Ladies first," he commented.

The former queen's face remained stony, but she went for the vine anyway. Since it was easier to go down than up, it wasn't long before her boots reached the ground and she was scanning her surroundings for traps. Hook descended behind her, but not before blowing Emma and Snow a kiss as he started down the vine. The blonde woman rolled her eyes while her mother shook her head. The pirate chuckled as Charming threatened to cut the vine down, but made it to the ground safely. As his feet touched down, he slowly looked around, then regarded Regina stoically.

"Anything of concern?" he asked her blandly.

"No," Regina replied suspiciously.

"Then we ought to head toward the palace before there is something to worry about," Hook said, stepping forward. "We only have so many hours before we have to return to the Jolly Roger. Shall we?"

A flash of alarm crossed Regina's face, but no one saw it. Keeping close to Hook (though not within striking range of his namesake) she followed him down the alley nearest to them which seemed to lead to the main road. When they reached the end, he stopped her with his raised hand and looked around the corner of the building. Seeming satisfied with what he saw—or didn't see, as things were-he stepped out onto the main lane.

Since most of the buildings were only a story tall, Regina could surreptitiously see the rest of the group on top of the wall as she and Hook crept down the road. When she couldn't look at them anymore because of the risk of bringing even more attention to them, she focused on the palace. It wasn't particularly grandiose in terms of castles, especially compared to her own back in the Enchanted Forest. If anything, it looked more like a slightly larger version of her mayor's manor in Storybrooke.

As she and Hook approached the front doors, she kept an eye out for magical traps, but didn't find any. Though this should have lessened her concern, it actually intensified it.

"Hook, what did they do the last time you were here?" she asked lowly.

"Hm?" he hummed. Apparently, he hadn't been paying her much attention…

"What did these princes do to you the last time you were here? Send in the soldiers, set traps, pour boiling oil on you, _what_?!" she demanded.

"Ah," Hook responded, glancing in her direction briefly. "None of that. Well, they did send some soldiers, but they were hardly a concern for me and my men."

"That was it?! So this whole magical wall situation didn't happen before?"

"No, I went through the front gates," Hook replied.

"No resistance?"

"Little to none."

By this point in the conversation, they had reached the front of the palace and were looking up at the carefully engraved doors. The top of the doors depicted scenes which Regina assumed was related to the princes' histories. One image showed a boy aiming a weapon at a girl flying in the sky. Another showed a group of boys clustered around the same girl, this time listening to her with rapt attention. The further down she looked, the older the boys got. Toward the middle of the doors were scenes which seemed to represent the time that the castle and village were built. Six young men stood in front of a crowd, gesturing as if speaking to them. Regina's eyes traced down to the bottom of the doors, which showed scenes after the princes had established themselves on their imaginary thrones.

"Well, now, my hair wasn't nearly that long," Hook commented, looking at a portion of the door which apparently showed a pirate invasion of the village. The scene didn't exactly paint the pirates in the best light, and the fact that it showed their defeat didn't help the matter. Hook clucked his tongue as if in disappointment. "And lying to their visitors, at that."

"Lying?" Regina wondered suspiciously.

"We won," Hook replied, then turned his attention down the road. Regina decided it wasn't worth her time to ask more questions, so she did the same. Emma and Snow were coming down the road cautiously, alert as always to anything amiss. Regina couldn't help but hope that they would set off a trap or two…

But it never happened. Just as she and Hook had, the mother and daughter duo made it to the palace without any problems. As they reached the doors, Charming and Mr. Gold casually strolled down the lane, though they did keep an eye on their surroundings. Again, no soldiers jumping out of the shadows, no pits opening up beneath their feet to swallow them whole. Regina couldn't help but be disappointed a touch….

"So…do we just knock?" Emma asked the group at large once her father and the sorcerer reached them. They dubiously looked at the giant knockers. Charming straightened his shoulders and reached for them. The entire group jumped backward as the door creaked open when he was just short of touching it.

"Well, that's rather welcoming, isn't it?" Rumpelstiltskin commented. Charming, Snow, and Emma looked at him nervously while Regina rolled her eyes and Hook scrutinized the entrance.

"Should we just…go in?" Emma wondered.

"I wouldn't advise it," Hook answered dryly.

"But we need to talk to them to find Henry!" Regina exclaimed. The pirate's face turned stony.

"Hook…we don't really have a choice," Emma replied as she looked at him desperately, "We need to find out if they know anything."

Hook's jaw worked as he contemplated her plea. "Lass, you and Regina should go in and speak to them."

"And what about the rest of us?" demanded Charming.

"I don't think it would be wise for me to go in," Hook said, "Besides, a mother's plea may sway them."

"And the rest of us just stand out here twiddling our thumbs?!" the prince argued.

As the debate continued, the group didn't notice the figure that was coming toward them from inside the castle. It paused a few feet into the entryway and observed the squabble for a few moments before clearing it's throat and addressing the strangers.

"May I help you?" the figure asked loudly in clear, cultured tones. When the sextet heard it, they froze, staring at one another. Gradually, one by one, they turned to look at the intruder.

An eerily calm young man with shoulder-length lifeless hair (that looked bleached to Emma) stood there. His snooty demeanor was emphasized by the fact that he seemed to be looking down his long nose at them, and wore an impossibly clean white uniform of a starched shirt with an equally stiff mandarin collar surrounding his neck and pants that looked as if they could stand on their own should they be taken off. His motionless face reminded Emma of one of those actors who'd had waaay too much plastic surgery and botox. She disliked him on sight.

"May I help you?" the stranger repeated.

"Uh…" Emma hesitated, looking to Hook to see what he would say.

The pirate's face remained as stony as it had during the argument. He stepped forward and Emma had some satisfaction seeing the stranger's stiff expression slip enough to show recognition. So his face_ could_ move…

"You're almost civilized today, Captain Hook," the pale imitation of a human commented with a curl of his thin lip and an angry gleam in his cold gray eyes.

"I'm always a gentleman, Hans," Hook replied, a dangerous glint in his own eyes, "Otherwise I would have carved my initials into that lovely face of yours with my hook."

Hans stepped forward as if to fight Hook, but halted himself midstride. Schooling his face again, though that angry gleam was still there, he regarded the pirate as he would have something less-than-savory on his perfectly polished white shoes.

"The past is the past," he said stiffly, "What are you doing here?"

Hook looked at Emma and Regina, then tilted his head at Hans. Regina decided to take the initiative and stepped forward, her regal demeanor matching (if not outshining) Han's. He watched her carefully as she faced him.

"We seek information about my son from the princes," the former queen declared.

"What makes you think they would know about such a thing?" Hans asked.

"Everyone in Neverland knows the princes are privy to everything that happens on the island," Hook interceded.

"Only what their messengers relay to them," the colorless man replied.

"Well, the information we're looking for would get anyone's tongue wagging," the pirate said, "Outsiders coming to the island?_ Without_ the Shadow? Quite a feat."

At this tidbit of information, a glint of curiosity lit Hans' gaze. "Is that so?"

Emma decided to run with his interest. "And not just one, but _two_ groups? That had to have gotten someone's attention."

"Two?" Hans queried, his curiosity intensifying. He looked from one person of the group to the next. When his gaze took them all in, he murmured, "No, you don't seem to be from Neverland…and He wouldn't bring full-grown adults here, especially females…"

"So could we speak to the princes?" Snow suddenly spoke up. Hans considered the group for a little longer, his gaze lingering on Hook.

"Certainly. But not the pirate," the man answered, referring to Hook flatly.

"Well, that won't be a problem," Mr. Gold said, a sneer crossing his face as he looked to the pirate. Hans took this in and a ghost of a grin attempted to cross his face.

"Ah, another who recognizes the pirate's duplicity. You absolutely must speak with the princes. As for the rest of you, barring the good Captain, follow me," Hans commented, turning back into the building.

"Hook is coming with us," Emma stubbornly insisted as the others followed Hans. The pale man turned to look at her with narrowed eyes.

"No," he answered.

"We need him with us," the blonde woman replied.

"And why would that be?" asked Hans.

Emma carefully thought over her answer. "Would it really be a good idea to leave a pirate alone? With no one around to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't…burn the village down or something?" Hook, catching onto what she was saying, turned to look at the village thoughtfully, then swung back around and gave Hans a trouble-maker's grin.

The ghostly man's eyes narrowed further, which Emma hadn't thought possible. His gaze swung to Hook and he contemplated the other man. His already thin lips thinned some more. The silence lasted a bit longer. "So be it," he finally hissed. "The pirate is your responsibility. Should he do something he shouldn't, both of you will suffer the consequences."

Though she breathed a sigh of relief, Emma couldn't help looking at Hook with a concerned expression. "No funny stuff," she warned him.

"Of course not, Swan, but let's keep him on his toes, shall we?" he whispered back to her, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Don't even think about it! No keeping him on his toes!" she practically growled in response. "We don't know what they'd do to us! He doesn't exactly seem the type who can take a joke, let alone recognize when someone's messing with him."

"Ah, lass, you're no fun," Hook commented, a ridiculously dramatic pout on his face. It quickly turned back to his usual devilish expression. "But I'll do as you wish. Pity, though…had some quite good ideas…"

Emma rolled her eyes at his childish behavior. Really, it seemed as if being in Neverland brought out his little boy more often since they'd arrived. It had been less than a handful of times, but it was still noticeable enough. Although maybe that wasn't the case? The longest amount of time she'd ever spent with him had been climbing that beanstalk, and they'd been too busy scaling it and keeping alive to really get to know each other. What did she really know about him, anyway? Maybe this was just what he was usually like. She mentally shrugged. She didn't really have time to think about those things right now. It wasn't as if they were important, anyway. Deciding to stop the flow of thoughts, she went after the group that had left with Hans, making sure Hook followed and she could keep an eye on him.

It was time to get some answers about her missing son.

Hans led them through winding hallways that were well-decorated and not even remotely gaudy, which surprised those who had lived in castles before. Usually, some nonsensical thingamajig or another was used to decorate, but not here. The walls weren't even bare stone, but had solid clean walls. The few alcoves along the way didn't have busts with severe faces, but nicely crafted sculptures.

When they reached the end of the hallway Hans had led them down, the group faced yet another set of huge doors. These doors, however, were not solid wood and did not have any engravings. Instead, they were made of what looked like…stone? How did those things move?

That question was answered when Hans pulled up a panel in the wall revealing several levers, and pulled one…which then opened a hole in the floor behind them. The group stepped to the side hastily, pressing themselves against the doors.

"Ah, wrong lever," the pale man commented calmly before putting it back in place. The hole closed up. "A security measure," he explained, 'We haven't had any problems recently, so I had forgotten that one of them did that."

He pulled the lever right next to the one he'd just set back in place and the doors shook. The sextet abruptly moved again, this time away from the door. Emma could only imagine what they must have looked like with their constant nervous shifting. As they stepped away from the door, it slowly lifted as Hans watched it. When it was the appropriate height for all of them, and they saw a darkened room beyond, he pushed the lever inward and the doors stopped.

"Well." Snow commented, "That's…different."

"And useful," Hans replied. He stepped toward the dark room. "You all stay here, I'll go let the princes know of your arrival."

As he disappeared into the shadows, the adventurers looked at each other uncertainly while Hook kept his eye on the room.

'So…how are going to do this?" Charming asked.

"Regina is to ask the princes about the whereabouts of the boy," Hook stated, not taking his attention away from the shadows, "She did volunteer herself, after all."

"Then what should the rest of us do?" wondered Snow aloud.

"Well, I'm sure Rumpeltstiltskin will have a lovely chat with the princes," Hook commented dryly.

"I'm quite sure I will," Mr. Gold replied, giving Hook a condescending smirk.

"The rest of us can't just stand around twiddling our thumbs," Emma pointed out.

"The princes will likely have questions for all of you," Hook replied cautiously, "Particularly when they find out that, other than Regina, there are two other members of royalty among us."

"Emma is royalty, too," Charming said lowly, as if offended that she'd been forgotten.

"Not really, Dav-Dad. It's not as if I was raised as royalty, or know a single thing about it. I'm more of a peasant than a princess."

"Emma!" her mother exclaimed, horrified.

"What? It's a fact," the blonde woman replied with a nonchalant shrug and a no-big-deal look on her face.

"That might be true, but you didn't have to put it that way," Snow grumped.

"Though it may be true you aren't exactly royalty, lass," Hook interrupted, "The fact that you're from a different world entirely—perhaps even the home world of one of these boys—-will be more than enough fodder for them to question you."

Emma shifted uncomfortably at that possibility. She really didn't like the idea of being questioned about her world by some wannabe prince. If it weren't for Henry, she would have turned around and left then and there.

It was as she was thinking this that Hook suddenly tensed, bringing everyone's attention to him. He was still watching the shadowy room, so the group turned to look in the same direction. A white blob was moving in the space. As it moved forward, Hans materialized.

Nodding at the group, he reached over to an interior wall of the room close to the doorway. When his hand moved, the room finally lit up. High ceilings and a room with dark wooden walls that were a stark contrast to the hallways (and Hans) greeted them. On the opposite wall was yet another door, though this one was extremely simple compared to the others ones they'd run into since getting to the palace. It was an ordinary size and made of wood that had a distinctly yellow-green tinge to it. Though she was no expert on furniture, Emma guessed it had been recently installed since the wood looked so fresh.

"The princes have agreed to answer your questions," Hans told Regina, who had drawn herself up and projected that regal air of hers when he had come out of the shadows. The pale man looked to Mr. Gold, "And they're quite intrigued by you in particular."

Rumpelstiltskin lifted a brow. "Indeed," was all he said.

"If you'll all follow me," Hans said, turning back to the room. The sextet did as he asked, mentally prepping themselves for whatever they were about to encounter.


	7. Ch 4, Meeting the Princes (Part 1)

Ch. 4: Meeting the Princes

At the opposite door, Hans knocked 6 times. Voices came from the other side and, apparently satisfied with what he was hearing, he opened the door. Stepping aside, he gestured for the group to enter. Regina, head high, entered first, followed by Mr. Gold, the Charmings, and Hook trailing in at the end.

The room was large and shaped like a half-circle. Peppering the walls in diamond shapes were small alcoves which Emma assumed were supposed to be some sort of decorative pattern, because there was nothing in them like the ones in the hallways. Ringing the perimeter were six large, elevated thrones which were almost exactly the same. The only real differences were the colors of the cushions and backs of the seats.

When they came into the room, the six young men occupying the chairs stopped their whispered conversations to look at the group. Some looked over them speculatively while others were a bit more hostile. However, when their gazes took in Captain Hook, all of them became obviously infuriated, though they did manage to rein themselves in from leaping out of their seats and beating him to a pulp.

Hans stepped forward, then turned to face the group, his arms behind his back. "Allow me to introduce their majesties. From my right to left, we have the twins, who go by One and Two, Nibs, Slightly, Tootles and Curly."

Emma couldn't help but mentally step back from the information. Weren't those the names of the Lost Boys from the original story? Then, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at grown men going by those names. She would have thought that they would have changed them to something more glamorous since they'd apparently declared themselves princes. But she supposed they still wanted to be recognized as Pan's Lost Boys.

The pale man who had led them to the princes turned when he finished his introductions. Addressing the self-declared royalty, he spoke. "These outsiders requested an audience to determine the whereabouts of a missing boy. I shall leave them to you." When he finished speaking, he bowed, then made his way to a door off to the side and left the room.

The two sextets watched each other carefully for several tense moments. Finally, one of the two princes in the center of the row—Slightly, Emma thought—rose from his red-cushioned throne. He was the most distinguished-looking of the group, with carefully combed brown hair and a slightly pointed beard, but he had a similar air to that of Hans. Looking down his patrician nose from his slight height advantage, he spoke in a measured tone. "What could make the likes of _Captain Hook," _he sneered the pirate's moniker much like Rumpelstiltskin, "Come to us civilly instead of raiding the village in the dead of night as usual?"

Hook didn't get the chance to respond because Regina stepped forward with the mocking expression Emma had known when she first came to Storybrooke in place. Her dignified bearing almost outshone the prince's. Almost. He had the advantage because of her shorter height.

But when she smiled that dangerous feline grin she was well-known for, she barreled over his presence and took center stage. Emma couldn't help but be impressed. She'd known that Regina had a very strong presence, but she hadn't thought it would have been enough to take precedence over other royalty in their own homes. Slightly seemed to be impressed as well, after first blinking several times in surprise at her overshadowing him. In fact, Emma swore she saw the edge of his mouth twitch slightly when he recovered himself. He regarded Regina with a new sense of respect and waited for her to speak.

"I am Queen Regina. We are here to gather information as to the whereabouts of my son," the sorceress told the princes as she swept her gaze over them. The twins seemed to straighten when her eyes came to them. "He was taken by a man and a woman. We traced them here to Neverland and followed, but we don't know where they landed. We were led to believe that you gentlemen may have information about that."

"A man and a woman who brought a boy to Neverland without Pan's involvement or knowledge?" Slightly queried, rubbing his beard as he looked at her speculatively, "I'm afraid that is impossible. Everyone who comes here is only able to do so because Pan permits it."

"We managed to get here without him," Emma stated matter-of-factly. The princes turned almost as one to look at her.

"And how," Slightly wondered, "Did you manage to do that?"

The blonde woman glanced at Hook from the corner of her eye. Catching her glance, he nodded subtly. "A magical bean," she told the princes. The young men exchanged disbelieving looks.

"A magical bean?" asked one of the twins uncomfortably.

"A magical bean," his twin echoed in a flat tone. The other princes suddenly swung their attention to the twins. Slightly's eyes narrowed at them.

"You say that as if you know what they're talking about," he said carefully. The twins practically squirmed in their seats, but eventually managed to raise their eyes to the bearded man and nodded. "Then what exactly are they referring to?" Slightly asked lowly, in a dangerous tone.

The twins exchanged nervous glances, but then One stood from his yellow seat and faced his interrogator. "When she mentioned it, I had a flash of a memory from before Pan brought me here…"

"You _remembered_?!" interrupted Slightly incredulously.

One shifted at the comment. "Yes."

The bearded man sputtered, causing a few of the other princes (not to mention Emma, Hook and Charming) to grin in amusement. When he saw the reactions of his brethren, he brought himself under control. "Go on," he grumbled.

"Well…I…we…" One looked to Two to confirm his thoughts and his twin nodded, "Remember hearing someone mention that there were magical beans that were grown by…genies?"

"Giants," Emma corrected automatically.

One nodded at her in thanks. "Giants. They grew these specials beans which could take you to any number of other worlds. No one really knew how they worked, but they were extremely prized. People would trade their most valuable livestock for them, if not their entire livelihoods."

"So they could bring someone to Neverland? Without Pan's knowledge?!" Slightly demanded, getting heated again. "We could have left this blasted island at ANY TIME!?"

"Easy, Slightly, you're going to make them clam up," drawled the blond prince to his left lazily. He straightened from his slouched position in his purple throne enough to see the twins and regarded them carefully. "Could we have left?"

"Not unless one of those beans magically appeared here in Neverland," Two commented sourly from his green throne. Slightly seemed to relax at this knowledge and returned his attention to his guests.

"Do you still have this magical bean?" he asked.

"No. As soon as it is used, it disappears," Mr. Gold answered out of the blue. Slightly's attention turned to him.

"I doubt the lot of you will want to stay here in Neverland, so how will you leave should you find the boy?" he wondered speculatively.

"That is not our concern as of right now," Hook replied. Slightly threw him a scathing glance, but the pirate ignored it. "Our priority is finding the lad. We'll consider our options once we find him."

"And why should I help YOU, pirate?" the brown-haired man practically growled.

"You wouldn't be helping me," Hook shot back, "You'd be helping the queen."

At this successful maneuver, Slightly's attention returned to Regina, who raised an eyebrow mockingly. He visibly relaxed when he set his eyes on her. Emma didn't think the prince could be any more obvious and rolled her eyes.

"Ah yes, the Queen," he said with a smile. "You say your son was brought here by a man and a woman recently?"

"Yes," Regina stated regally.

"Allow me to consult my brothers about this matter. If you'll excuse us," he told her, walking to the door Hans had exited through earlier. The other men followed and they soon closed the door behind themselves, leaving the adventurers to look at each other and contemplate what had just happened.

"Well, that prince seemed quite taken with you, Regina," Mr. Gold quipped.

"Shut up," the former queen snarled.

"On the contrary, I think we need to discuss how to use that to our best advantage," the older man commented.

"We won't be," Regina answered.

"What happened to the evil queen who literally stole men's hearts and trapped lovesick genies as her personal servants?" Rumpelstiltskin tittered. Emma's own heart clenched at the reminder of what Regina had done to Graham. Disturbed by it, she didn't notice her hands tighten into fists or her gaze drop to the ground, though two other members of the party did. Snow watched her daughter worriedly, remembering Emma's reaction back in Storybrooke while Hook took in her sudden change in demeanor, curious about what had caused it. The latter didn't have time to muse over it because Regina spoke again, drawing everyone's attention.

"I'm trying to be better," Regina told her mentor, "For Henry."

"We'll see how long that lasts, dearie," Mr. Gold responded cynically.

"Did anyone else find their reactions to the magical bean story strange?" Charming asked.

"You mean the whole 'You remembered' thing?" Emma wondered aloud, glad to distract herself from the dark turn her thoughts were heading.

"Yeah," her father replied, "Do they not know who they are?"

"No," Hook commented somberly. Charming whipped around to face him.

"What are you talking about? From what I heard, it sounded like they wanted to go back to their homelands," the prince said.

"I have no doubt that they do," Hook answered carefully, "But it would be bloody difficult with their memories gone."

"Gone? How?" Charming asked.

"I can't say for certain," the pirate stated, "But it is well-known that the longer one stays in Neverland, the more they forget of their original lives."

"That's terrible," Snow said sadly.

"Aye," Hook answered, "That's why they were so surprised that the Twins were able to recall that bit of information about the beans."

"But…if they've been here long enough to grow up…how is it that they only remembered that now? Especially when it sounded like they'd been trying to figure out how to get out of here for a long time?" Emma wondered.

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her meaningfully, with raised eyebrows of his own. She knew what he was thinking.

"Oh no. No no no. That had NOTHING to do with me," Emma said, "It must have been the magical bean thing."

"Possibly," Mr. Gold skeptically stated. The blonde woman refused to entertain the idea, either in her own mind or his. Thankfully, she was able to avoid discussing it further when the door opened and the princes returned. That had been quicker than expected…

When they'd returned to their seats, Slightly remained standing while the others sat. "We have come to a decision," he announced. "In consulting with my brethren, we have agreed to assist you in finding your son." He smiled at Regina, apparently proud of himself.

"Do you know something?" Emma blurted out eagerly. The princes looked at her in confusion and she realized her error. "I mean, we've been looking for so long…"

"No…no, we don't have information yet," Slightly answered slowly and suspiciously.

"Then how do you propose to assist us?" Regina asked through what sounded like gritted teeth, successfully bringing the prince's attention back to her.

"Now, now," he said, "We've sent for our messengers. They know the most about what happens on the island. They ought to be able to help you."

"But the island is huge, how long will it take them to get here?" Snow queried.

The prince in the purple throne answered her with a smile. "It should only be a few moments."

An awkward silence filled the room as they absorbed this information. It made Emma's skin itch. She searched her mind for some sort of safe conversation topic, when she remembered the conversation with her mother back in the gnome village. Holding onto that small spark of hope, she stepped forward, bringing the entire room's attention to her.

"There is one other thing I would like to ask," she stated.

Though he maintained his lazy pose, the purple prince—Nibs?—scrutinized her in such a way that she had a distinct feeling he was much more aware of things that he let on. In fact…though Slightly was the more vocal of the group, this blond man was the actual leader. Which would explain how he'd been able to get his compatriot to calm down so quickly, come to think of it…

"Yes?" Nibs asked.

"There is a possibility that someone else may have landed here, A man, who would have come here on his own," Emma said, feeling Rumpelstiltskin tense up close by, "An injured man, so he couldn't have traveled very far without help. Have you heard of one showing up here on the island recently?"

The princes looked at each other, as if asking if any of them had heard anything. They all shook their heads. Emma's heart sank and her eyes teared. Her mother stood by her and rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. So Neal hadn't come to Neverland…he probably was dead…

"However," Nibs commented, interrupting her train of thought, "Perhaps the messengers will have news of such an arrival as well."

Emma swallowed the tears that had threatened to fall as the hope in her chest sputtered a bit. Maybe….

"In the meantime," Slightly announced, bringing attention to himself while directing his own at Regina. While the attention was divided, Emma collected herself and focused on what the prince was saying now. "Perhaps the lot of you would like a tour of the palace? Well, except for Hook, of course," was the afterthought.

"I believe we would quite enjoy a tour," Mr. Gold agreed, a sneaky glint in his eye that was entirely missed by the princes.

"Splendid," Slightly answered, "I will take the fair queen with myself."

"Take the older fellow with you as well," Nibs suggested, "I believe Hans said something about you two having quite a bit in common because of Captain Hook."

The brown-haired prince's face fell slightly at Nibs' suggestion, but he didn't argue. In fact, as he considered it a moment, his face brightened a bit. "Quite amusing that ought to be," he said, "Very well, come along…er…"

"Mr. Gold," the magician answered as he walked closer to the prince, a disgruntled Regina following. When they were at a satisfactory distance from him, he came down from his throne. He shook hands with the older man before heading for the main door that the group had come through. The two magic users followed, Mr. Gold at ease while Regina maintained her regal air with a touch of exasperation.

"Mr. Gold. Pleasure to meet you, sir. I believe Hans mentioned you've had some problems with Captain Hook, yourself."

"Quite a few," Emma heard Rumpelstiltskin reply as the group went out the main door.

"Would the rest of you also like a tour?" Nibs asked as soon as the other group was out of earshot. Snow and Charming hesitated. Though they were curious as to what the rest of the palace looked like compared to theirs, they didn't see any pressing need to investigate.

"If you don't mind, sir, we'd like to stay here and wait for the messengers," Charming finally said.

"So be it. And you two?" the blond prince asked, turning his observant eyes to Hook and Emma.

"What-I thought Hook wasn't allowed," Emma answered, surprised that they'd even been asked.

"Mm…" Nibs hummed, "He has a difficult time letting bygones be bygones. Captain, do you intend to remain here once your quest is done?"

"No," Hook answered simply. Emma looked at him in astonishment. He didn't want to stay here? Then what did he plan to do once all of this was over? Although she supposed she couldn't blame him…she had a feeling his last extended stay in Neverland had not been of his own choice…she knew she wouldn't want to stay here. It was just too bizarre. And eerie, especially at night.

"So you don't intend on stopping by for a…ah, _surprise visit_ in the future?" Nibs queried with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it seems I've already…_borrowed _the best of what you could offer," Hook replied, a twinkle in his gaze.

"Well, then, what Slightly doesn't know won't hurt him," the prince said, stepping down from his throne with a lazy swagger and his hands in his pockets. He grinned widely at Hook, in a way that made it seem as if he were talking to an old friend. Hook returned the grin. Emma_ really _didn't know what to make of that…

"Seeing as the other two will be staying here, if one of you fellows hear that Slightly is coming back, you know how to contact me so we can avoid any…messy business," Nibs told the other princes. They all nodded in agreement. So it seemed Emma had been right—this guy was the true leader.

The prince turned back to Emma and Hook. "Follow me," he told them as he began to make his way to the main door, just as Slightly had before them.

Emma noticed that her parents seemed worried, so she walked over to them and gave them quick hugs. "I'll be okay," she reassured them. Her parents' tense faces eased a bit, but maintained a concerned look. "Really," she tacked on as she turned back to the door.

Catching up, she was thrown off again to find Hook and Nibs chatting comfortably. She followed behind them, trying to keep enough distance so that she didn't seem as if she was eavesdropping. Apparently, Hook noticed her presence though, and catching sight of her as she trailed behind, he tilted his head slightly to bring her forward.

"Well, you two seem to be getting along," Emma commented suspiciously as she reached them.

"Ah, yes, well…that," Hook responded, "Nibs may have…assisted me…in some of my endeavors in the past."

The blonde woman's eyes narrowed at the two of them. They both offered her impish grins. She shook her head.

"I guess I'm no better," she muttered, recalling her years as a teenage thief and her current status as an alleged savior…

"Now that your teammate has deigned to join us, shall we?" Nibs asked, gesturing down the hall.

"After you, good sir," Hook replied with a flamboyant bow. Emma rolled her eyes.

The tour took them around the outer hallways of the palace. When they came back to the starting point of the tour, Nibs led them through an interior doorway, which led them to yet another hallway. The blond prince led them a bit further down the hallway. As they rounded a corner and approached two doors parallel to one another, he spoke.

"We'll be going through this door on the left, it's a little project of Curly's and Tootles', with some help from some of the fairies and townspeople," he said.

Pushing it open, Emma and Hook were led into a huge central courtyard overflowing with all sorts of tropical plant life-none of which they'd seen on their walk to the palace. There were even some plants which looked suspiciously similar to some of the things Emma had seen in the Enchanted Forest. Fountains dotted the gardens, many of which shot water two to three feet into the air, creating an endless mist in some spots. The air, though heavily perfumed, wasn't nearly as unpleasant as one would expect in an enclosed area. Emma couldn't help but gawk.

"So this is the center of the palace," Hook mused, "I never did get this far."

"Where do all these plants come from? I didn't see any of them on the way here," Emma wondered.

"They're from all over the island. Our palace is actually rather close to the coast, so you probably haven't seen the places where these plants grow. Although I'm not sure some of them are even from Neverland," Nibs answered, lines creasing his brow.

"But then how would they have gotten here?" Emma asked.

"I wouldn't know," the blond prince replied, shaking his head. He faced Hook and Emma. "Do you two recall the way back to the throne room?"

"Uh…yes?" the woman responded hesitantly. Why would he ask something like that?

"It is rather nearby," Hook said.

"Yes, it is. Well, I'm going to go see if I can find where Slightly and your friends are. Feel free to enjoy the gardens. If you'd rather just return to the throne room, feel free to do that as well."

"Could we use that other door across the hall? It looks like it would lead right back to it," Emma suggested.

"It doesn't," Nibs answered, a sudden odd gleam in his eye, "You are not to go through that door." He focused his attention on Hook. "Not at all."

Emma looked between the two men, sure she'd just missed something. Neither expression changed, but she felt as if some sort of silent message had been passed between them.

"Of course not," the pirate replied agreeably, "We wouldn't dare impose on the hospitality you've shown us."

Nibs nodded, apparently satisfied. "I'll return should I not find you back in the room by the time the messengers arrive."

The blond prince turned and headed back to the hallway. "Enjoy the garden!" he called as he went through the door.

"…What just happened?" Emma asked the dark-haired man next to her.

"I do believe we were just granted permission to…_enjoy the gardens_, lass," Hook replied, waggling his eyebrows.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. "You know what I mean, Hook."

The pirate sighed dramatically, "Ah, you certainly know how to wound a man's ego, love."

"Bull," she stated flatly, "This has nothing to do with your ego and you know it."

Hook sobered, though a grin still played around his mouth. He looked toward to doorway that had been left open enough for them to see the other across the hall. "I believe we were just given permission to do a bit of exploring."

Emma lowered her arms. "You mean through that other door?" Her mind played around with the idea and her inner teenage self was thrilled with it. Then her bounty hunter investigative sense started tingling. "Okay. But we don't know where it goes or how much time we have. We better be reasonable about it."

"You always have been quite reasonable, Swan," Hook purred. She gave him a look and he chuckled. "It would be best not to overstay our welcome. I've already stretched it with my presence."

"No kidding," Emma scoffed.

"After you, milady," the pirate told her, stretching his arm toward the door. Emma eyed him, but took the offer and headed for the door. She swore she could feel Hook's gaze where it really shouldn't have been. Turning enough to see him, her eyes caught his and he grinned. Okay, so his attention wasn't further south, but that didn't mean it hadn't been…

Shaking her head, Emma walked across the hall and cautiously reached out toward the knob. When she touched it, it didn't burn her or open up a trap door beneath her feet…she remembered the floor giving way at the entrance to the throne room and suppressed a shudder. She'd fallen plenty of times, but from what she'd seen of the pit, it had been extremely deep. Maybe even bottomless. That would have put a kink in their plans.

"Would you prefer I go first, Emma?" Hook offered, a tinge of concern in his tone. She must have been hesitating longer than she'd thought…

"No," she stated resolutely and pushed the door open. She pressed her back against the wall next to the doorway and peered in, expecting a dragon or something. Nothing. Looking at Hook, who'd been slightly further down the hall and watching for anyone coming in their direction, she caught his eye and tilted her head to show she was going in. Carefully, she crept along the wall and stepped inside. The instant she did, orange-tinged light flooded the…room? Hallway? Emma was so blinded by the sudden change in the light, it took a few seconds for her vision to adjust. When it did, she noticed that Hook had followed behind her and shut the door. Apparently, his vision had recovered faster (or maybe it was because the light had come on BEFORE he'd come in), and he was looking around. Emma did the same.

It wasn't exactly a hallway or a room. Maybe more like a niche or closet, if someone was comparing sizes. It was somewhat tight, but not so much that the two partners-in-crime were squished together and risked an inappropriate situation, though Emma was sure Hook would have enjoyed that. The walls were made up of roughly hewn rocks slapped together with mud or something similar. The floor was made of worn stone, too. Emma guessed this was probably one of the older parts of the building…

"Hook?" she asked, scanning the uneven floor, "Was there anything here before the princes claimed it?"

"I wouldn't know lass," Hook responded, "I spent most of my time on the sea. The few times I came to land I didn't really have the opportunity to take in the sights."

"This looks old," she continued, "Really old."

"Aye, you could say that," the pirate answered as he checked out the walls. He moved to Emma's other side and lightly pressed his hand against the wall. Watching him, Emma noticed the wall shift. Her startled glance flew to Hook's neutral face. "I believe we have just found a door," he said plainly.

Emma's gaze returned to the door they'd come through. "We don't know how much time we have," she reminded him.

"What hour do you have on your watch?" he asked her. She checked it.

"4:30," she told him.

"That leaves us with nine hours to return before nightfall," Hook commented, "Though it shouldn't take more than three hours to get back to the ship, barring unforeseen circumstances…"

"So that leaves us with 6 hours. That's plenty of time," Emma responded.

"We'll see," Hook answered cryptically, "So shall we dare enter this doorway?"

Emma contemplated this. She knew it would be best for them to turn around, but something told her to keep going. "Yes," she told him resolutely. Hook nodded and pushed on the door. It opened more easily than either of them expected.

"If it's as old as it looks, it shouldn't open that easily," Emma pondered, "Someone must have used it recently."

As Hook pushed the door open some more, Emma noticed the air didn't smell as musty as it should have. Though it made her uncomfortable, she pressed on, the pirate following closely. They entered another niche when they got through the door, but this one had a stone staircase leading downward. An unusually well-lit staircase…

Exchanging a look with Hook, she cautiously stepped down a stair. Nothing happened. Releasing a breath she hadn't known she was holding, she took one more. Still nothing. Assuming something would have triggered by this point if anything were set up, Emma decided to continue down the stairs at a more steady pace. She stayed to one side, using the wall to brace herself as she stepped down. Hook walked beside her down the other side, basically doing the same. Every few steps, they would glance at each other to map their progress.

They descended in a tense, but companionable silence, their light steps still managing to echo off the walls. If anyone was down there, they would know they were coming, no doubt about it. But considering that Nibs had encouraged them to come this way, Emma felt slightly more secure in doing it. It was what he'd wanted, right? Of course, it could be a trap, but—

Occupied with her thoughts, Emma stumbled as she went down a step. Hook threw his arm out to stop her from smashing her head against the stairs. Or the wall, considering they were close to a turn. She managed to brace her arm against the wall and right herself in time to stop from falling into his arm too hard and taking them both off balance down the steps. When she righted herself, she stopped completely and took several deep breaths.

"Are you all right, Emma?" Hook asked her, concern shadowing his face.

"I'm good, I'm fine. That was a close one," Emma responded, smiling shakily at him.

"I would say so," he replied grimly.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about whether this could be a trap set up by the princes," she told him sheepishly.

Hook nodded slightly. "A valid concern, to be sure, but your mind should be focused on your exterior surroundings, not your interior thoughts," he warned her.

"I know that!" Emma snapped, bothered by the fact that he thought her so stupid.

Hook regarded her carefully. "My apologies. I said that badly."

"Got that right," she grumbled.

"What I meant to say is that you should focus what's happening in the here and now," Hook explained.

Emma sighed. "You're right. Let's keep moving." Now that she had steadier footing, she began her descent again, the pirate following and then catching up.

When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, another hallway led away from it. Though as well-lit as the stairs themselves, the walls and floor were just as worn as the top landing had been. Emma examined the floor. It was way too clean and dust-free to have been abandoned.

Walking down the hallway, she observed that here and there, little notches were cut into the walls near the ceiling, filtering in some outside light. When what Emma assumed was a cloud passed by one of the two suns (or was it both?), the light play would get particularly eerie.

When they reached the end of the hallway, Hook and Emma were faced with a heavy-looking wooden door.

"A heavy wooden door at the bottom of a hidden staircase," Emma stated dryly, "I wonder what could possibly be behind it."

"Care to make a wager?" Hook asked her lightly.

"What could you possibly offer me?" Emma wondered with a skeptical look and a raised brow.

"Oh, I'm sure you could think of something," the pirate replied, a naughty grin crossing his face.

"No," she answered flippantly, then walked closer to the door. She paused in front of it and checked her watch. Her eyes widened. "I didn't think it took us that long!"

"Hm?" Hook wondered as he contemplated the door.

"It's already been 15 minutes," she told him, "If it takes us 15 minutes to get down the stairs, it'll take even longer to go back up. Maybe we should head back…"

"Nibs told us he would retrieve us should we be needed. Since he encouraged us to explore in the first place, I have a feeling he will know where to find us," the pirate answered as he tested the door. Just like the others, it swung open more easily than it should have, though with a few more creaks. "Shall we?"

Emma hesitated. Who knew what was going on upstairs? But at the same time, they were already down here….and the prince must have sent them in this direction for a reason…"Okay," she agreed.

Hook pushed the door open and held it for her. Though she had encountered a few chivalrous gentlemen in her time, it had become increasingly rare lately, so his gesture surprised her.

"Thank you," she told him cautiously as she went through the door. Hook just smiled.

When they got through the door and closed it behind them, their eyes had to adjust again because the lights weren't nearly as bright as the others had been. Though not exactly pitch-dark, it reminded Emma of the range of light at dusk. Just enough to see, but also the type of light that tricks your eyes into seeing shadow and movement where there isn't any. It unnerved her as she remembered that their most dangerous enemy here was a being related to shadows.

When their eyes had adjusted enough, Emma and Hook noticed that they'd arrived at yet another hallway, this one lined with multiple doors right up to the end. A half circle was cut toward the tops of the doors, about eye level, with vertical bars across them. What had been presumed before was proven true.

"Why would Nibs want us to check out an old dungeon?" Emma wondered aloud as she and the pirate slowly walked down the hall. They both jumped when someone—-or something—-actually answered.

"I told you I'm not telling you anything else!" a female voice shouted out of one of the cells. Pinpointing roughly which one she was in, Emma strode over quickly, heart pounding. This had to have been the reason Nibs had sent them in this direction.

Standing on her toes a bit, the blonde woman gripped the bars and looked inside the cell. It was slightly darker than the hall, so her eyes had to adjust…again. But when they did, it was still difficult for her to see exactly who was in it. Movement from the corner of the little room brought her attention to it. When she saw who was in there, her heart pounded even more, though for a different reason.

"You," she practically hissed as her hands gripped the bars even harder.

"Emma?" Hook queried lowly as he made his way to her side and looked through the bars himself, "Love, is that who I think it is?"

"Tamara," Emma ground out, almost spitting.

"Oh, it's you," the other woman replied dismissively. "I'm surprised you even made it to Neverland in one piece. I guess Greg was telling the truth when he said Hook had a bean."

"Damn straight," Emma answered, trying to press her face closer to get a better look. The pirate pressed a hand to her shoulder and held her back, though.

"I must admit, a cell suits you quite nicely," he drawled at the imprisoned woman. "Shame it doesn't seem they had any rope. Not even a chair, tsk tsk."

Tamara got up and came closer to the door. Emma wanted to grab her by her perfectly straight hair and smash her head against the door, but the other woman apparently had enough wherewithal to stay just out of her reach.

"_You killed Neal_!" Emma shouted as memories of her last encounter with Tamara started flooding her mind. She felt her eyes burn, but refused to let the bitch see her cry.

"Yeah, but it's not like I really wanted to. He just got in the way. If he had stayed out of the way and not tried to save you, he would still be alive."

Emma felt Hook's attention suddenly fly to her. "He saved you?" he asked quietly. Afraid to look at him and let him see how much the memory ripped her apart, she just nodded tightly.

"Emma, step aside," Hook requested of her. Emma glared at Tamara.

"No."

"Lass, _step aside_," he said more firmly. Surprised at the vehemence of his tone, the blonde woman switched her attention to him. Seeing the look in his eyes, she stepped aside just enough to let him see Tamara more fully. As soon as he'd gotten sight of her, Hook's hand lashed out into the cell, and he grabbed the woman's collar. The distance she'd kept from the door apparently wasn't too short for Hook's arm, though it was for Emma's. Tamara gasped and let out a little shriek as he yanked her more closely to the door and edged the blonde woman away. Silent fury radiated off of him and Emma couldn't help but stare in frozen shock and more than a little envy that he could do that when she couldn't.

"You're lucky I didn't use my hook," he said silkily as he brought his face closer to the bars.

"You're too much of coward to do that. You couldn't even kill a barely conscious Rumpelstiltskin," Tamara answered with a snarl, though Emma could tell even from her shocked, disbelieving mind that it was false bravado. Though the two women had been more than adequate adversaries when they'd fought back in Storybrooke, she had a feeling the other woman didn't stand a chance against a furious pirate when she was as stuck as she was in the cell.

"But as it turns out, that was quite a fortunate turn for me," Hook replied, tightening his grip. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been reunited, now would we?"

Tamara laughed hysterically. "You and Rumpelstiltskin cooperating? Yeah right, Hook, you would never give up your revenge on him for anything. You're a bad liar."

"Lying, am I?" the pirate mused, "Believe what you wish, my dear, it only proves your utter ignorance. Emma, love, do you have any questions for the wench?"

Emma, who'd been thawing from her shock while this exchange happened, snapped back to reality at his question. Her green eyes flared as she recalled her own fury and anguish. "Where is Henry?" she demanded lowly.

"No idea," Tamara shot back. Hook's hand flexed again as if he were getting ready to switch his hand from her collar to her throat…or his hand for his hook…

Emma, noticing this, pulled a move she'd learned from her mother and impulsively placed her hand on his arm. Apparently surprised by the contact, he practically jumped as she did it and loosened his hold on the imprisoned woman somewhat…after which he looked down at Emma with a confused expression. She warned him about getting carried away with her eyes, then returned her attention to Tamara.

"Where…is…_Henry_?" she asked again, more slowly this time.

"Like I said, no idea. We were ambushed by those boys when we showed up and were separated. I don't even know where Greg is," Tamara answered, a vulnerable expression briefly crossing her face. She steeled herself pretty quickly, though, and faced Hook and Emma as defiantly as she could, considering her limited circumstances.

"No clue at all?" Emma ventured, watching her carefully.

"No," Tamara replied, looking her dead in the eye. Emma's lips tightened when she realized she was telling the truth. She let Hook hold onto her, though.

"Ambushed by some boys…do you mean the princes or the Lost Boys?" Emma asked, deciding this may be her only lead to finding her son.

"Not the princes, the other ones. But they brought me here once we were separated and locked me up for no good reason. I did EXACTLY what Pan wanted—"

Emma cut her off before she could continue her rant, "And you didn't see where they took Henry or Greg?"

"For the last time, NO!" Tamara shouted. "All I know is that they're probably not together. I guess Pan got what he wanted, though," she added bitterly. At the mention of Pan, Emma's heart began beating erratically and her blood roared in her ears as she broke out in a cold sweat.

"What does he want with Henry," she asked, trying to rein in her reaction.

"We weren't told," Tamara replied haughtily.

This time, with the other woman within reach thanks to Hook's actions, Emma put her hand through the bars and grabbed the prisoner's chin hard. Bringing her own face as close as she could, she whispered lowly, "Are you sure about that?"

True fear had lit the woman's features as soon as Emma had grabbed a hold of her. One hand within choking distance and another gripping your face so hard it would leave bruises could do that to a person. She tried to pull back from her two angry visitors, but their firm holds only allowed her legs to move back a bit. She brought her hands up to their wrists, but it was such an awkward position, she was forced to abandon that method quickly. Tamara let herself go lax. She knew struggling too much could only make things worse.

"I'm sure," she gritted out.

"So Henry is all alone out there, in a world he doesn't even know," Emma said, sensing her panic rise again.

"Either that or Pan has him already," Tamara replied, unable to stop a smirk.

She really should have tried harder. With that remark, Emma let go of her chin, allowing Tamara take a breath more easily before a fist slammed into her face and she dropped like a rock because Hook had let her go the instant he'd realized what his partner was doing.

"Satisfied?" he asked Emma dryly.

"Not even close," she answered as she did a quick examination of her knuckles. Well, they weren't bloody. She flexed her hand. Okay, nothing seemed to be broken. Yeah, it was throbbing, but that was a good thing…it had hurt more when she'd hit Hook in the jaw with the compass…

"We ought to return to the throne room. We've done what we had to here," Hook said, turning back toward the staircase.

"You think that's what Nibs wanted us to do?" Emma asked, catching up and walking beside him, "Knock out a prisoner who's already pretty…uncooperative?"

Hook chuckled. "Well, perhaps not that part, but I do believe he wanted us to see her and speak to her." His brow creased a bit as he thought about the situation. "Though I don't quite understand what he gains from this…or why he was so willing to go behind a fellow prince's back to do so."

Emma considered this for a short time. Another idea came to her mind. "Maybe…maybe he didn't exactly do it to go behind Slightly's back…" she trailed off hesitantly.

Hook looked at her curiously. "What do you think is the reason?"

"Well…Maybe he did it to go behind Pan's back?" she suggested. Hook's eyes flared at the possibility before his expression turned thoughtful again and stroked his jaw.

"I suppose that would make more sense than stabbing his fellow prince in the back," Hook said, "Especially considering that Pan essentially exiles Lost Boys as soon as they reach maturity…"

"You never mentioned that!" Emma exclaimed, "You just said they grew up and declared themselves princes!"

"Well, it hardly seemed relevant at the time," Hook answered, turning his attention toward the stairs again and not looking at her. Emma narrowed her eyes at the nonchalant response.

"What else are you hiding from us?" she asked carefully. The pirate's expression suddenly shuttered and her lips thinned in frustration. "Hook…" she warned him dangerously.

"Emma, now is not the time," he replied, increasing his speed toward the steps.

The blonde woman stared after him in shock. Was he _running away_ from her? Hook? The man who took every opportunity to get into a person's personal space? Infuriated, she raced up to him and grabbed his arm just as he reached the staircase. Caught off guard, the pirate lost his balance slightly and fell backward. Though not prepared for his heavy weight, Emma was still somehow able to steady him with her free hand as she braced her feet apart. She stumbled a bit herself, but managed to stay standing as Hook realized what was going on and corrected his balance to lessen his weight a bit. Throughout all of this, Emma's hand stayed wrapped around his lower arm like a vise. She had a surprisingly strong grip…and Hook refused to turn and face her once they'd both corrected themselves.

"What…else?" she demanded hotly.

"Much," was Hook's only reply, and Emma barely heard it since he was facing away from her. But when she did, she became even more angry. So angry that she flung his arm as she let go.

"I THOUGHT you were HELPING US!" she shouted at him. He turned slightly so that his side was facing her, but refused to completely turn around.

"I am," he told her solemnly.

"You're hiding things from us that could be important! Things that could help us find Henry or…or…keep us safe…or—"

"Lass, believe me when I tell you this. I would never intentionally withhold information which could be of value to us. If I were to tell you everything I know about Neverland, you would—-"

"I would WHAT, Hook?!" Emma exclaimed, interrupting him. "I would high-tail it back to Storybrooke and leave my son here?"

"No!" Hook turned around fully and shouted back, then muttered, "You're so blasted determined when you set your mind on something, that's near an impossibility."

Emma wasn't sure whether that was a compliment or an insult. She blinked. "Well, you're right about that," she finally said, calming down a bit, though still fuming at the fact that he was apparently hiding so much from her—them. She meant them…"Is there anything the rest of us should know about that you've so conveniently forgotten to mention?"

Hook contemplated her warily. Probably expecting another explosion. Which there would be if he deserved it….

"There are two things, actually…" the pirate answered uncomfortably. Emma crossed her arms and waited. As the silence dragged out a bit more, she raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "I knew the Lost Boys before they became princes."

"Well, that would explain why you were so buddy-buddy with Nibs…" the blonde woman grumbled.

Hook nodded. "It wasn't very long before they declared themselves princes, actually. They were still lads, but on the cusp of adulthood. Though they worked with Pan, I had an…understanding with some of them. Nibs in particular. When I required…assistance, they would supply it without Pan's knowledge."

"How did they manage to do that?" Emma asked curiously, "I thought he was everywhere in Neverland?"

"The lads were with him long enough, they knew how to go about doing things without his knowledge."

"And they helped YOU? His nemesis? Didn't they have any loyalty toward him?"

"Now lass, what makes you think I was his nemesis? I was merely an existence on the periphery of Neverland."

"Um…well…from what I heard, you and Pan were enemies because you were a grown-up who kept trying to do away with him." She didn't bother mentioning the whole hand-to-the-crocodile thing. Obviously, that wasn't the case here…

"Truly, I never paid Pan all that much heed," Hook answered, "Occasionally, we would cross paths and more often than not, it wasn't exactly a friendly meeting, but I would hardly say I was trying to 'do away with him'. I was far too occupied trying to find a way out of this cursed realm to bother."

"I can imagine that," Emma murmured as she considered his obsession with Rumpelstiltskin and revenge. Though she guessed now she could call it his 'prior' obsession…he was doing fine with the whole truce thing so far, even when the evil imp had been messing with him…As her mind trailed off, she remembered Hook's earlier comment. "You said you had two things to tell me," she challenged as she focused on him.

Hook let out a bitter sigh and ran his hand through his hair. He eyed her as if unsure as to how she would react to whatever he was about to tell her. "It won't put you any more at ease," he warned her.

"I can handle it," she replied stubbornly, lifting her chin.

He blew out a breath again. "I may have an idea as to why Pan wants your son."

Emma's eyes widened. "Okay…" she trailed off, not entirely sure as to how else to react.

Hook glanced over her carefully before returning his attention to the stairs as he addressed her. "Stories abounded when I was here about Pan's origins. None of the Lost Boys have been here long enough to have known Pan when he came to be. But the most persistent tale was that he'd been separated from his human body in some way and was searching for a new host. However, he was very…particular about the body he wanted. He would bring boys to Neverland with the hopes that they would be the one he was looking for, but he was never successful…and he never returned the boys to their homelands. Perhaps he believes Henry…"

"Is the body he wants," an unusually pale Emma replied shakily, picking up the gist of his story. She wished she had somewhere to sit, and seeing her only option was the stairs, she sat down heavily on the lowest step, putting her face in her hands. After a few seconds of arguing with himself, Hook sat down next to her, but kept his gaze focused on the hallway, darting occasional worried glances at her. Emma rubbed her face and slid her hands down just enough that her stricken eyes stared down the hall in Tamara's general direction herself. A few more seconds passed as she could collect her panicked thoughts, then she slid her hands off her face the rest of the way. Crossing her arms on her legs and leaning forward, she spoke.

"So they took Henry so Pan could decide if he was the body he wanted," she said stiffly.

Hook nodded next to her, "Possibly so, lass."

"Do you think they know that?" she asked, daring to look at him.

"Tamara and Greg? No. I believe they've been left uninformed. They aren't quite significant enough for Pan or any of the Lost Boys to reveal their plans to them."

"And they would probably follow orders without questioning them, if what Regina told us is right," Emma replied.

Hook nodded. "From the short amount of time I spent with them, it became clear rather quickly that they are followers, not leaders."

"Yeah…how did you run into them anyway?" the blonde woman asked, glad to find a distraction from her worry. "I mean, I know Tamara was in New York, but…how did she even get you here?"

Emma swore she saw the tips of Hook's ears turn red and a pink flush wash over his face. "That's neither here nor there," he said, abruptly standing and turning toward the steps again. "We ought to return to the throne room."

She blinked at the sudden change in his attitude, but stood anyway. "You're right. But when should we tell the others about what we found out down here?" she wondered.

"First, let us hear what their messengers have to tell us about the island," Hook answered, looking down at her from a few steps ahead. His face didn't seem as rosy as it had before… "Should they conveniently forget to mention Tamara's presence, we'll tell the others when we get back to the ship. I know you enjoyed…ah…_interrogating_ her…" he said as Emma smirked, feeling rather proud of herself. "But I have a feeling Regina would enjoy it even more," he finished. Emma's smirk faded as she realized what he was saying. Again, he was right.

"We should really get going," she said, catching up to him. The two of them made steady progress up the staircase side-by-side, Emma's mind falling back to what Hook had told her about Pan while the pirate contemplated how they were going to use the new information from Tamara to their advantage.


	8. Ch 4, Meeting the Princes (Part 2)

When they reached the top of the stairs, Nibs was waiting at the top.

"I came back to retrieve you to find that you'd disobeyed me," he grumped, arms crossed, but a twinkle shone in his eye. "Was it worth it?"

"Not at all," Hook stated loudly in a bored tone. But there was an answering twinkle in his own gaze.

"Have the messengers arrived?" asked Emma.

"They should be here shortly," Nibs replied, "They sent an advance scout to let us know."

"Then we should get back to the throne room, shouldn't we?" Hook replied.

"Ladies first," Nibs answered, gesturing Emma down the hall. She raised an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden chivalry, but she didn't bother thinking about it too much. She was doing too much thinking already…

As they headed down the hall, Emma heard the men talking in hushed tones, the prince drawling while the pirate asked him some brief questions. She sighed, but otherwise ignored them.

Entering the throne room, Emma saw Slightly looking disgruntled on his red throne while Regina and Rumpelstiltskin stood with the Charmings. Regina looked a bit miffed…or maybe it was disdain, while Mr. Gold chatted with Charming companionably.

When the others noticed their arrival, their collective attention turned to the trio. Nibs smiled on gamely while Hook's face remained neutral and Emma just raised an eyebrow. The prince returned to his purple throne while Emma and Hook went to their group.

"So how was your tour?" Snow asked her daughter eagerly.

"He just took us around the halls and showed us their courtyard," Emma told her.

"That's it?" her mother wondered, somehow managing to look curious and confused at the same time.

"Well, they did have this huge garden…and I think some of the plants were from the Enchanted Forest."

The frown lines creasing Snow's forehead deepened slightly. "How would they even be able to get those over here?"

"Fairies," Regina answered lowly out of the blue. Emma and Snow turned to stare at her, startled by the fact she knew the answer so quickly.

"Speaking of which," Slightly boomed, making some members of the group jump, "I believe our messengers have arrived." Apparently he'd been eavesdropping…

The adventurers turned to look at the doorway they had come in, waiting for the so-called messengers. They didn't see anyone, but they heard the distinct flutter of….wings? Looking toward the top of the door, and the ceiling, they were taken aback when they saw the balls of light that were coming into the room. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of them. Were they….?

"Fairies," Hook sighed, "Blasted nosy flibbertigibbets. I should have known." At the comments, a few of the light balls suddenly turned red. One flew right at his face. Somehow he managed to snag it by the wings and stop it from pummeling his nose. "Hello, Tinkerbell."

Emma was taken aback. Tinkerbell? Here? Working with the princes which she hadn't even known existed before? Blinking, she was brought back from her thoughts by a loud, angry small voice…coming from Hook's direction. Tinkerbell could TALK?

Edging closer, the blonde woman attempted to hear what was being said by the furious little red light ball. Coming from it was language fit for a sailor…or pirate. Emma felt she should have been surprised by the content of the rant, but she wasn't. Remembering the Disney movie she'd watched as a kid, she was actually not the least bit surprised at Tinkerbell's language. She'd seemed the type to use it in the movie too…with that tinkling bell sound acting as a censor…

"Now Tink, that's hardly language for a lady," Hook drawled, a spark of mischief in his eye. The fairy's shouting only intensified. The pirate let out a chuckle, which seemed to instantly cause the fairy's furious red light to dim, just a bit. It wasn't long before it had completely faded. He let her go and, after one last comment flew to the princes to join her fellow fairy-folk. Emma could only watch her go in awe.

"That's Tinkerbell?" she whispered to him.

"Aye. Fiery little thing. Always has been," Hook told her in a fond tone.

When Emma returned her attention to the princes, she noticed them watching her and Hook closely. Or maybe just Hook. It was sort of hard to tell from this distance. When all the fairies had gathered around them, the princes gestured to the walls and the fairies went to the little alcoves peppering the walls. So that's what they were for! She tried to pinpoint which one was Tinkerbell, but there were too many, and they were just far enough that she couldn't really see them…

"Usually, we would go in a specific order to hear the news about the island, but we'll make an exception this time," Slightly said, "Do we have any news of arrivals? Particularly a boy with a man and a woman? Or an injured man?"

One of the fairies descended from her alcove and landed between Nibs and Slightly. The light surrounding it brightened until the adventurers had to avert their eyes to avoid being blinded. When it faded, they returned their eyes to the front. Now standing between the princes was a fairy with large yellow wings. Wearing a shimmering blue dress that skimmed the top of her knees, she was a particularly willowy fairy with dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"What have you heard, Azure?" Nibs asked.

"A trio of people did arrive here some time ago, a man, woman, and child. The grown-ups were rather rough with the child," the fairy said in a troubled voice. The sextet tensed at the implication.

"Did they hurt him?" Emma asked lowly. She swore if her son had gotten any more injuries at the hands of those two, they would regret it. She'd show them what she'd learned as a bounty hunter…and a few of the tricks she'd picked up since Henry had brought her to Storybrooke for good measure…

"Well…none of us got close enough to tell if they left any marks on him, but they were shoving him a lot," the fairy answered, her hands twisting nervously.

"Anything else?" the purple prince drawled.

"Um…the Boys found them pretty quickly," Azure answered, "But there was an…altercation. There was so much fighting…and they all got separated. They went in different directions…most of the Boys went after the child, but a few went after the man. The woman somehow got away without anyone chasing her."

"Which way did the Boys go?" Regina demanded. The already skittish fairy flinched and recoiled from the angry woman, even though she was a good distance away anyhow. She stepped as close to Nibs' throne as she could, short of sitting on it, and watched the former queen warily.

"Um…I…I would guess they went toward camp," Azure replied meekly.

"There, there, my dear," Nibs said, patting her on the arm, "She won't attack you here." The fairy swallowed and nodded the tiniest bit, then moved back to her old position.

"I get the feeling she's not like Tinkerbell," Emma whispered to Hook as she observed Azure's jumpy behavior.

"Ah…no, she isn't," the pirate answered.

"Has she always been like that?'

"I wouldn't know, lass. Far too many of them on the island for me to know each one."

"That many?" Emma wondered, looking at him skeptically. They hadn't run into any on the way over…and he had been here for a long time before…

Hook apparently figured out what she was thinking. "We may not have seen any, but the sprites are quite adept at blending in when they want to. And they aren't exactly fond of pirates…" he commented, eyes twinkling.

"I kind of got that idea from Tinkerbell," the blonde woman answered wryly.

"Actually, Tink is an aberration," Hook answered, grinning widely, "She and I are on good terms occasionally."

Emma shook her head in amusement. She would bet. Especially if he turned on the charm high enough. It was surprising, though, that the fairy and pirate were even _occasionally_ on good terms. Wasn't she friends with Pan?

She was brought back from her musing by Azure's continued report. "The grown-ups were forced to go in opposite directions," she said, "We lost sight of the woman, but the last time I checked, the man was headed toward the other side of the island…I…don't think he knew where he was going, though."

"Of course not," Hook muttered, "The fool has never known what he's doing."

"Any other grown men on the island lately?" wondered Nibs aloud.

"No," Azure answered. The slight hope Emma had had died a quick death. She inhaled sharply at the stab in her chest and hoped no one had noticed. She bit her tongue to stop herself from showing any other sign of her distress. For some unknown reason, she darted a glance in Hook's direction and knew she hadn't succeeded, judging by the somber cast to his face.

"Emma…" her mother said gently, coming to her side. The blonde woman shook her head to stop Snow from continuing her attempts at comfort. The other woman paused. Apparently deciding she should heed her daughter's words, she returned her attention to the thrones while Emma tried to gather her composure. Neal was gone. Dead. She didn't think there was any other world that would know how to treat his wound. And even if they did, who knew how much blood he would lose in transit to another realm? Or where he would end up landing? She doubted there was any set rule about where portals would open. He could end up in the middle of an ocean and end up drowning because there was no way he could swim with a gunshot like that. In short, there was no chance of his survival…

"I'm sorry," Nibs told the group, looking genuinely contrite. The other members of the group nodded, though it seemed as if Rumpelstiltskin had turned to marble considering how stiff and unmoving he was. Emma felt the tears pricking her eyes and blinked furiously. She couldn't cry here. Not in front of these strangers…maybe if she'd just been with her mother…

"Should we hear any more news while you're here, we'll send word," the purple prince continued.

"How long do you plan on staying?" Slightly suddenly asked, paying particular attention to Regina. The former queen's eyes narrowed at the question.

"Only as long as it takes to recover my son," she said lowly, a warning glint in her eyes.

"Perhaps you would like to rest for a time?" queried the brunette prince hopefully.

"No." Regina answered, her hard, flat tone brooking no argument. Slightly practically deflated at her refusal. The guy just didn't know how take a hint…

"Well, then, I suppose we ought to let you go—-" Nibs was interrupted by shouts from the hallway. Rising to his feet, his lazy demeanor instantly morphed to one of tense expectation. The other princes stood, one by one, their own postures reflecting their leader's. The adventurers unconsciously inched closer together.

"Seems we have company," Slightly said with an air of cool amusement.

As they watched the door, a man burst through. A man with a distinctive plume on his helmet…

"It's that soldier!" Snow whispered. Regina heard and gave her a dirty look, before looking to the soldier and doing the same to him. He didn't notice, being a bit too preoccupied with staunching the flow of blood coming from his shoulder.

"Your Highnesses," he shouted, "We're under attack!"

"The Lost Boys?" Nibs asked, a resolute expression on his face, the comment more statement than question.

"Yes, sir," the soldier answered, wincing as he pressed his hand harder against his injury. With the confirmation of the invaders' identities, many of the fairies squealed in fear while others began to fly around the ceiling, bumping into each other and being a nuisance in general as they tried to find ways to escape or hide.

"Thank you, Sven. TOOTLES!" Nibs shouted. One of the young men to his right, who had risen from an orange throne, stood at attention. "Take Sven and fix him up as best you can."

"But Nibs, I want to fight with you!" Tootles practically whined.

"No," the lead prince answered, "Curly, go with him. I have a feeling we're going to need a lot of bandages…" The last of the princes, a shorter man with black curls whom the sextet had yet to meet, nodded, looking almost…relieved?

"I always miss the good stuff," grumbled Tootles as he and Curly walked forward and helped Sven off to that door on the side again.

Nibs' attention returned to the adventurers. "Hook knows how to fight, but what about the rest of you?"

Charming drew himself up as if offended. "Of course I do."

"Yes," Snow answered as her daughter nodded.

"Well, I may have a few tricks up my sleeve," Mr. Gold replied, looking more animated than he had in a while, a battle-ready glint in his eyes. "Though Miss Regina isn't exactly a warrior…"

"Don't worry, I'll protect her!" Slightly promised.

Regina rolled her eyes and huffed out a disgusted breath at his offer. "No. For your information, Rumpelstiltskin, if I was able to beat Maleficent, I think I can handle some boys with knives."

"Not only knives, but if you insist, your Majesty," Nibs commented, an amused glint momentarily brightening his eyes before they hardened in preparation for battle.

"NIBS!" called a challenging, silky voice from the doorway. Everyone in the room turned to see a cloaked, waif-like blond teenager standing in the entrance. He was carrying a staff taller than him. When Hook and Rumpelstiltskin saw him, they tensed.

"Felix," the purple prince growled. Legitimately _growled_. Emma distantly thought that was unexpected, though she was still preoccupied with the news about Neal…or the not-news about Neal…and the fact that they were smack dab in the middle of a complete melee…and had no idea what was going on or what they were about to face. And this Felix kid didn't exactly seem like an amateur at fighting. And if Hook and Mr. Gold knew him…speaking of which…

"Hook, Mr. Gold, you know this kid?" she whispered loud enough for both of them to hear. Hook darted a glance in her direction and gave a single nod while the older man simply continued glaring at the boy. She would take that as a yes.

"Where is she, Nibs?" asked Felix in a polite tone that made Emma's skin crawl, "We know you took her."

The purple prince's posture loosened. A lazy smile crossed his face. Emma knew something was about to go down. Especially since she had a distinct feeling she knew exactly what the teenager was asking about…

"Who, boy?" wondered Nibs airily. Emma noticed that the intruder's face tightened at how he was addressed. So that was the prince's plan…or part of it, anyway.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about, Nibs," Felix answered, somehow managing to keep his tone level. "Pan's pawn."

"Which one?" the prince mused, "Aren't you all pawns?" The teen's eyes flashed, but he didn't take the bait. He must have had a lot of practice with instigation. Or just a lot of practice in recognizing when someone was toying with him…

"I am Pan's right-hand man, unlike his pawns and _former_ partner," Felix made sure to emphasize the latter part of the comment, and Emma could tell it was meant to be a stab at Nibs, "He tells me everything."

The purple prince shook his head and gave a dramatic sigh. "You still believe that, do you? Ah well, you'll see soon enough that Pan has no use for full-grown men," he said, meaningfully looking Felix up and down.

Apparently, this was a sore point for the boy. He moved forward, but stopped himself before he took two steps. "Where is she?" he asked again, the polite tone from before not quite so polite anymore.

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Nibs stated, keeping his face neutral.

"Well, then, I guess we have a problem," Felix answered, the honeyed tone back in his voice. He tapped his staff on the floor and a booming thud that was way too loud for such a skinny stick echoed through the building, even vibrating the floor. Within seconds, more boys of varying ages popped up out of the blue. Emma's group stepped even closer together, this time fully aware of what they were doing. Clustering together, they kept their backs to each other and faced all of the Lost Boys who had suddenly appeared. The princes that were present, meanwhile, stayed where they were and eyed the intruders carefully.

There was a tense silence as each side sized up the other. The fairies, squealing and chaotic earlier, were now completely quiet, carefully watching what was going on and probably looking for a safe way out. The silence intensified until it was thick enough to cut with a knife (or sword in this case), and it was then that the room erupted into battle-frenzied insanity, with the Lost Boys leaping into action at the same time that the princes began pulling all sorts of weapons from behind their thrones.

Felix went straight for Nibs, despite the fact that the adventurers were actually the front line. He somehow managed to dart around them and avoid the other Lost Boys' attacks to come staff-to-sword with the purple prince. Nibs, however, was no slouch, and was quick to guard. He was able to shove off the teen and attack with lightning speed. From what little Emma could see as she landed a solid right hook into one boy's face, she guessed it had to have something to do with the fact that he had had a much longer time than Felix to practice his skills. And now that he was an adult, he probably had even more time since he wasn't at the beck and call of Pan…her thoughts were interrupted as Hook caught a particularly nasty-looking mace headed for the side of her head and disarmed it's owner before hitting him in the head with the butt of his sword. Her startled gaze swung to the pirate, who grimly nodded and went back to fighting.

"Thank you!" she called out to him as she grabbed one boy by his wrist and threw him over her shoulder and into another teen that was behind her, knocking both boys to the ground.

Fists flew, swords flashed, knives sliced, fire exploded, and a variety of other weapons were swung every which way. Somehow, though, the adventurers managed to inch their way to the doorway without any critical injuries. Unfortunately, Charming, Snow and Regina very quickly found themselves in a conundrum, their backs to the wall and Lost Boys swarming in their direction. Charming swore profusely as he stabbed at the boys, not aiming to kill, just to maim or keep at a distance. Snow had run out of arrows a long time ago and didn't have quite as much experience with swords as her husband, so she was tiring quickly as she defended herself. Regina's fireballs were most successful at keeping the boys away, but her hair was mussed and she had all sorts of cuts and bruises from the fight. Not used to fighting so vigorously in such a short span of time, she was tiring, too.

Emma and Hook weren't in as much of a bind as the others, both used to fighting more dirty than the rest of their group. It wasn't as if they were immune to injuries, but they were faring much better than the others. It probably helped that they were somehow able to fight back-to-back without being separated.

"Hook, we have to do something," Emma said urgently, her arms threaded through his. With a nudge, the pirate bent forward just enough for her to use his back as a grounding point to get her feet up and kick off with both legs at another pair of Lost Boys. Her boots solidly connected with their midsections and they flew back, stunned from the hard blows to their solar plexuses. As she got both feet back on the ground again, she separated her arms from Hook's and reached for the knife strapped to her belt, her mind racing to come up with some sort of plan to help the others. Her eyes landed on the panel by the doorway…which wasn't very crowded…

"Hook, back me up," she told him as she edged her way toward the panel. She didn't want to let the Lost Boys know where she was headed.

Hook's eyes darted in her direction in a pause in his fight. Noting where she was going, he nodded and returned his attention to the Lost Boy that was coming at him, whipping his hook out to catch the teen under his chin and knocking him backward.

Emma continued toward the panel, fighting off the Lost Boys that came after her and praying they wouldn't notice she was deliberately going in that direction. When she actually managed to reach the wall, she had to put her knife up to block a sword that was coming down at her face. The Lost Boy, taller than her, sneered at her as he put his weight behind the blade and pressed down. No slouch herself, she pushed back just as hard and was soon able to put enough strength behind her knife to push up and take him off balance, then swept her leg out to bring him down to his back. He prepared to get back on his feet when the point of a sword sliced through his cloak and pinned him to the ground.

"I don't think so, mate," Hook growled, reaching down and cuffing the boy in the head hard, knocking him out. "Do it, Swan," he told her, keeping an eye on the Lost Boys who were heading in their direction.

Though Emma wanted to make a comment about the fact that she'd already been prepared to do it before she'd been distracted by the sword-wielding Lost Boy, she decided not to. She really didn't have time for it, after all. Yanking open the panel, she reached for the lever she HOPED she needed.

"Stay where you are!" she called to the others as they continued fending off the teens. She didn't know if they heard her or not, but considering that they were holding their positions, she pulled the lever down. As she turned, screams and shouts filled the air as the boys standing over the trap door fell through the floor. The few boys who had managed to avoid being over the door looked on in disbelief as the shouts faded.

When they looked up again, fury lit their eyes. Emma had known something like this would happen, and though tired, she was fully prepared to face off against them again. But just as the boys began moving toward her and Hook, several young men burst out from the throne room. The blonde woman turned, her heart sinking as she expected more Lost Boys. But when she took in who had actually come through the doorway, she was relieved to see that it was the princes. They approached the advancing teens and engaged them in battle, giving her and Hook a chance to breathe, put the lever back in place, and run to the defense of the others. Pulling the Lost Boys away from their teammates, Emma and Hook managed to knock a few more of them out of commission.

"More are coming," one particularly dirty teen with an eye patch hissed as Hook restrained him.

"Bring it on," Emma snarled back as she punched him and he fell limp.

"Though an admirable response to the boy, lass, I think we ought to leave rather than wait for the reinforcements to arrive," Hook said wryly.

"Always good to keep them on their toes," she answered, slightly out of breath. The pirate shook his head and grinned slightly. They turned to see the progress of the princes and were glad to see all of them standing, though a bit worse for wear.

"Well, it seems you have the situation under control," Nibs said lightly as blood slipped down his face from a cut on his forehead.

"Quite," Hook answered plainly, somewhat calmed from his battle fervor.

Emma approached her parents and looked over them for serious injuries before going forward and squeezing the both of them as best as she could. "I'm glad you're okay," she told them simply.

"We were worried about you there for a minute," Snow said fondly as they broke the hug.

"I wasn't," Charming announced, puffed up like the proud father he was.

"Well, Hook had my back just in case," Emma said.

At the comment, her father deflated a bit and threw a disgruntled look in the pirate's direction. "I guess," he grumbled. Hook, apparently hearing the comment lifted an eyebrow and grinned. Charming couldn't help but shake his head in disgust at the fact that he'd had to acknowledge the pirate's usefulness, but a suspicious twitch at the corner of his mouth hinted that he was hiding something…

Emma's attention, however, was focused on Regina. "You okay?" she asked the former queen.

Regina, somewhat surprised by the inquiry about her well-being, wasn't sure how to respond for a second. She eventually decided she just didn't have the energy to question it. "I'm fine."

"Um…where's Rumpelstiltskin?" asked Snow suddenly. Surprised by the question, the princes and adventurers looked around to see that indeed, the sorcerer was nowhere to be found. He wasn't among the bodies and the floor, and the group was sure he hadn't ended up among the boys who'd fallen through the trap door…

"Once a coward, always a coward," Hook stated grimly.

"I could have sworn he was nearby when we started fighting," Snow said, still looking around as if she thought she'd missed something.

"If we see him, we'll let him know what happened," Slightly promised as he came up to the group. "But right now, you should really get going."

"He's right," Nibs said, looking between the red prince and the outsiders, "It won't be long before these boys start waking up, and since that last one said reinforcements had been called, who knows how many more will be coming?"

"They move fast," one of the twins spoke up, "And they know the island almost as well as we do."

"Where is your ship, Hook?" Nibs asked.

"Out by the breakwater," the pirate answered.

"Good, that's not too far. Is it masked?" the purple prince questioned him.

"Aye, as well as can be. I had some assistance from a former colleague," Hook told him, darting a glance in Regina's direction.

"Go, then. Make sure to take another route, though. You never know if they've been watching," Nibs directed him.

Hook nodded, then looked at the group. "Well, you heard the prince. If we're to take an alternate route, we'll need extra time. Especially if we encounter more of the Lost Boys or any of the island's other less savory aspects."

"Well, then, let's go," Charming answered, striding down the hall and circumventing Hook as he took the lead. The pirate looked after him and shook his head, much as the prince had when Emma had declared Hook's role in her fight.

"We ought to follow him," Hook told the women pointedly.

Snow nodded, then chased after her husband. "Thank you for all the information!" she called back at the princes. They grinned in unison and raised their hands to wave after her.

Slightly turned to Regina, then eagerly seized her hands and looked at her with a puppy-dog expression. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay until we find out more about your son?" he asked her.

Regina yanked her hands away from him. "Absolutely not. My son needs me, and sitting here isn't going to do him any good. What kind of mother would I be if I just sat her twiddling my thumbs when I could be looking for him and finding him quicker?"

The red prince's face fell, but he stepped back and nodded in resignation. "If that is what you want," he told her sadly, giving her one last adoring glance.

"We completely understand the significance of a mother to a son," Nibs stated, throwing Slightly a warning glance, then tilted his head in the direction of the rapidly shrinking figures down the hall. "The three of you ought to follow, before they get lost in the jungle." Regina nodded stiffly in what Emma assumed was mute gratitude and went after Snow and Charming.

"You're right, of course," Hook answered as the former queen left. Stepping forward, he extended his hand to the lead prince. "Thank you for all of your cooperation."

Nibs grasped the pirate's hand tightly. "I'm always right," he said cheekily, a mischievous grin on his face. Hook laughed and nodded at that as he released the prince's hand. When the pirate turned to thank the other princes, Nibs pulled Emma a little ways from the group.

"Did you get any answers from her?" he whispered to her as he watched Hook say goodbye to the others.

"Not many," Emma told him sadly.

The purple prince sighed defeatedly. "We've been trying to get answers from her as to Pan's plots, but she claims she has no idea as to what he's up to."

"That's what I got from her," the blonde woman agreed.

"In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know anything. Pan has a habit of conveniently leaving out crucial information," Nibs said, "I think our disillusionment with his manipulation may have been what prompted our growth into adults."

"Well, Hook did mention he's in charge. But does he really have that much control over the Lost Boys? Enough to control whether they grow up or not?" Emma asked.

"No one knows the true extent of his powers," the prince answered darkly, "But it wouldn't surprise me if he did. And his control isn't even entirely magical. When the boys come here, Pan is the only role model they have. He has an unnecessary amount of influence over them as a result. They don't want to displease him because they want to be praised by him, starved as they are for any shred of recognition. And when you take into account some of his disciplinary measures…" Nibs shook his head.

"What exactly does he do?" Emma wondered.

Nibs looked over her shrewdly, as if determining whether or not he should tell her what he knew. "How much have Hook and Rumpelstiltskin told you?"

"Not as much as they should have," she replied bitterly.

He was silent for a moment. "There may be good reason for that," he finally said.

"Not good enough," Emma said heatedly, "Now _tell me_, what does Pan do that makes the boys so afraid to go against him?"

Nibs sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, pointedly not looking at her. "Well, one method is taking their shadows."

The blonde woman's eye widened in shock and disbelief. "How?"

"Like I said, no one knows exactly what he can do. Even I can't describe it…"

"Did he take yours?" Emma asked quietly.

The prince's lips thinned as a pained look entered his eyes. "Yes. He took all of ours. As soon as we declared ourselves. That's why we can't remember our lives before we came to Neverland."

"But the Twins seemed to remember," she pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm fairly certain that was because of you," Nibs told her as he turned his attention to her, "And I've had vague recollections as well since you spoke to us."

"That wasn't because of me," Emma said uncomfortably.

"If that's what you want to believe…" Nibs trailed off, a skeptical tone in his voice. Emma wanted to argue with him, but it was at that point that Hook came back to them.

"We'll be going, then," the pirate said, "Thank you again, Nibs."

The purple prince nodded. "You're welcome, Hook. I hope your next visit will be a bit more pleasant."

"If there is one," Hook responded.

"Thank you," Emma told Nibs.

He nodded again. "Go. Who knows, perhaps we'll meet again before you leave."

"Hopefully in more pleasant circumstances should such a situation arise," Hook responded. He bowed and turned to walk down the hall. Emma sort of waved at the princes as she turned and followed the pirate. She couldn't help one last glance behind her at the carnage and hoped the princes would soon be free of this island. And prayed they would survive Pan's wrath after he found out what they'd done.


	9. Ch 5, Return to the Ship

Ch. 5: Return to the Ship

The rest of the group had already gotten outside by the time Emma and Hook caught up.

Charming's arms were crossed and he was impatiently tapping his foot. "Well?" he demanded, "Which way are we going, _Captain_?"

"You've been spending too much time with Rumpelstiltskin," Hook quipped. The prince scowled as the pirate went on, "We'll have to take the route along the river."

Emma considered their route into the village, but didn't remember any waterways except for that one where they'd made their water bottles and refreshed themselves. "Would it be that same river we ran into earlier?" she asked.

"Not exactly," Hook answered, "Though it would lead to that river eventually. Follow me."

And so the quintet followed him out of the village and, after double-checking for Lost Boys outside of the walls, scurried over to the opposite set of trees they'd emerged from earlier in the day. As soon as they reached the trees, a bright light suddenly lit the forest over their heads. The entire group tensed and prepared to attack—or defend themselves, whichever would be necessary. But when Hook looked up and began smiling, they calmed.

"Hello again, Tinkerbell," the pirate greeted the light.

The light blinked once and then started to brighten. The group recognized that Tinkerbell was about to take on her full form and looked away as the light continued to get stronger and then abruptly faded. When it was gone, they risked their eyes and looked back at her. A young woman, her wild hair pulled back in a bun/ponytail hybrid high on her head, stood there in a short, muted green dress, her wings fanned out behind her. A red aura like the one back in the throne room surrounded her.

"Your full form," Hook mused, "This must be important."

"Cram it, Hook," the fairy snapped back. Emma moved back a touch at Tinkerbell's vehement response and her eyes widened in disbelief. Sure, the fairy had always been shown as a little on the…crazy side (at least, in all the stuff Emma had seen) but that had been a surprising response...

"Still a bit upset about my last visit, are you Tink?" Hook answered.

"What do you think?" she hissed, "You made a promise and _broke it_."

"Well, now, allow me to explain-" the pirate was cut off when Tinkerbell made a violent motion with her hand.

"Save it." Suddenly the angry glow that had been around her faded to what the group assumed was her normal aura. "I'm here to help."

"Help…with what?" Regina asked cautiously.

"I…might have an idea as to where your son may be," she told the former queen.

Regina's eye narrowed. "And you didn't bother to tell us when we asked in the palace?" she wondered suspiciously.

"I didn't really get the chance, with the Lost Boys' attack and all," Tink retorted.

"What can you tell us?" Emma interrupted. She could sense the familiar tension between the queen and fairy, but she honestly couldn't care less what sort of history they had.

"Not here," Tinkerbell told her, looking around guardedly, "But I'll accompany you back to the Jolly Roger and we'll go from there."

"But if you can tell us where he is, and it's nearby, we can find him and bring him back and not waste another day here," Regina pointed out crisply, glaring daggers at the fairy.

Tinkerbell didn't rise to the bait. Instead, she shook her head, "He's not, or else the princes would have told you. They may not know everything that happens on the island, but they know what happens nearby."

"Well, then, I suppose we ought to get going," Hook commented, "Would you prefer to stay your current size, Tinkerbell, or would you like to return to your regular size?"

"I'll go back to normal," Tink told him stiffly, "That way we stand out less."

"True," the pirate answered. "And would you like to travel in my pocket like the old days?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"No," she replied. A sudden blinding flash and she was back to typical fairy size. The group blinked the stars out of their eyes, glad it had been quicker than her other transformation or they would have been completely blind. "If I need a break, I'll just rest on the backpack or in the arrow case," a miniaturized version of Tink's voice said. Emma looked to her mother to make sure that would be okay and Snow shrugged nonchalantly.

"Now that that's settled, shall we away?" Hook asked. The group nodded. With the pirate in the lead, the newly formed sextet pushed through some low-lying vegetation and began their trek away from the palace—and hopefully the Lost Boys.

* * *

An hour and a half into their journey, according to her watch, and with one of the suns completely set by the time they left the princes' palace, Emma began to worry that the group wouldn't be able to make it to the ship before nightfall. And she really didn't want to be in this jungle when the wailing of the boys began again, especially now that she knew for sure that Henry could be one of them. To distract herself from those thoughts, she posed a whispered question to Tinkerbell, who was lounging on top of Snow's backpack, having tired herself out about 15 minutes ago.

"Tinkerbell…what did you mean by Hook broke his promise?" she asked the fairy carefully. Tink's aura instantly began to shift, this time to more of a blue color.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said petulantly, "And you can call me Tink. Tinkerbell is such an annoying name."

"But…Tink…if he truly betrayed you, we need to know," Snow whispered to her back, "That way we know what to expect."

Silence, but Emma could practically hear the gears in the fairy's mind turning. Finally, she spoke. "Well…I don't know if he'd do it now…" she trailed off, "He seems a bit more…relaxed than last time."

"This is unusual?" Emma wondered, "He's been like this as long as we've known him."

"Emma, I think you mean as long as _you've_ known him," her mother emphasized, "You've spent more time with him than any of us."

"Not that much," the blonde woman muttered.

"I would have to disagree," Snow answered lightly, "But go on, Tink."

"Well, when **_I_** knew him," Tink replied, "He was a lot more angry. And bitter. And depressed. And savage. And sometimes just plain mean." Emma bit the inside of her cheek to stop a chuckle from escaping at the last part of the fairy's description. Tinkerbell continued, "Anyway, you all know how badly he wanted to get out of Neverland, right?"

"We have an idea," Snow replied carefully as she exchanged a glance with Emma.

"Well, he really wanted to leave. And I couldn't blame him. No one wants to stay here except for the things that were here to begin with. And even some of them want to leave….like fairies…."she said meaningfully. Snow and Emma knew where this was going.

"We fairies used to help Pan. But that was before he started really going crazy. We stuck with him a long time, until the princes grew up," Tinkerbell said, an affectionate tone making its way into her voice at the mention of the princes. "When they decided to leave him, we went with them. It was definitely a better life than we'd had with Pan, but some of us eventually wanted to leave Neverland altogether…I was one of them…" she trailed off again.

"Did you even know where you wanted to go?" Snow asked gently.

"No. I just wanted to leave. By then, we fairies were on slightly better terms with Hook, because we didn't work for Pan anymore. We stayed out of his way and he stayed out of ours. Once in a while, we'd run into him while we were gathering information for the princes. One time I overheard Hook mention that he was looking for a way to get out of Neverland. When I heard that…"

"You wanted to be part of it," Emma answered for her.

Tinkerbell nodded. "We made an agreement. I'd already been looking for a way out and I thought I'd found something, so I told him that, if it would work, I would tell him. And he said he had been following leads, too, and he would tell me if his ideas worked. Then we'd all leave. But…he found a way out and never told me." The fairy's aura began to redden. "He found a way out and he never told me! And I've been stuck here ever since!"

Emma had a feeling she knew exactly why Hook hadn't told the fairy what he'd found out. She paused before deciding that maybe it would be a good idea to tell her. Even if she was wrong, she thought it might be important to bring up, to make sure Tinkerbell didn't suddenly decide to sabotage them or something because of a sudden recollection of what had happened with Hook.

"Tink," she ventured to say, "I think I know what happened with Hook."

"What's there to know? He left me behind. Broke our agreement. No warning, no messages, nothing," the fairy said bitterly.

"Well…he did break your agreement, but…I don't think he knew he was going to leave when he did," Emma replied.

"What do you mean?" Tink asked carefully.

"From what I know about Hook…and what's happened to him…he only left when someone else somehow managed to come to Neverland and had a way out."

"Who? Who could possibly know a way in AND out of Neverland?" Tink demanded.

"You wouldn't know her. And I don't know how she did it. But this woman…" Emma chanced a glance at Regina to make sure she wasn't close enough to overhear, "She had magic. And she somehow knew about Hook and knew he was here. So she came to get him. I don't think he was given much time to get ready to leave. He wouldn't have had time to even send a message."

"You think he would have?" Tinkerbell asked skeptically.

"Um..well…I can't really say, I don't know what he was like back then," Emma answered, "What do you think?"

"He's always had his own honor code, no one really knows what he's thinking half the time. Not even Pan," the fairy replied.

"Pan doesn't know what he's thinking?" Emma wondered aloud, stowing that tidbit in the back of her mind.

"I don't think so. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived here as long as he did," Tinkerbell said, "Especially not with his shadow intact."

Emma looked over at Hook with newfound curiosity. He was able to survive Neverland and Pan for who knew how long. Of course, Neal had also somehow survived, but seeing as he'd been a boy when he'd arrived, the circumstances were different. How had Hook done it? She'd have to ask him at some point…

"Anyway, I guess I could give him the benefit of the doubt," Tink continued skeptically. Then her attention turned to Emma and Snow. "How did you all meet Hook? And how did you even get here?"

"A beanstalk," was how Emma answered.

"A bean," Snow replied at the same time.

"Huh?" the fairy commented, confused.

"We met him on the way to a beanstalk," Emma explained.

"And we got here because of a magical bean," Snow detailed.

"Is that how you're going to go back?" Tink asked eagerly.

"Uh…well, no," Emma replied, "The beans are for one use only. We're not sure how we'll leave."

Tinkerbell's light dimmed to a shade of gray. "Oh," she said in a small voice. Mother and daughter exchanged a glance, then both threw a brief look in Hook's direction.

"Tinkerbell…we won't make any guaranteed promises," Snow said gently, "But if we do find a way out of here, would you like to come with us?"

The fairy's aura brightened to an almost white light. "Could I?"

"As I said, there are no guarantees," Snow answered, "But yes, if we can leave safely, you're welcome to come with us."

"Thank you!" Tinkerbell exclaimed as she zipped up from her comfortable position on the backpack and did a somersault in the air."

"I think she's excited," Emma commented dryly. Snow laughed lightly at the comment.

By this point in their conversation, the women registered the sound of water running nearby. Looking around, they noticed a watery shimmer through the trees.

"Hook, is that it!?" Emma called out to the pirate.

"Aye lass," Hook called back, "We should be back at the Jolly by the time the sun sets."

Emma checked her watch again, taking note of the fact that they had about six hours before that happened. "I really hope so," she murmured.

* * *

The trek along the river, though tense as everyone was on high alert for Lost Boys, vicious plants, and unknown beasties, actually ended up being uneventful. The fact that there was a wide swath of grassland on either side of the river probably helped, as it was much easier to keep track of what was going on around them because of it, and boulders provided barriers if anyone unsavory showed up. The forest was also close enough that they could have run for the trees if someone attacked them and there wasn't a convenient rock nearby. Therefore, as the hike continued, the group began to relax a bit, though they remained alert to any danger that may have lurked about.

Two hours later, as they passed a particularly huge, strange-looking tree that looked like it was upside down, Tinkerbell hesitantly whispered to Emma and Snow. "We should probably go another way around."

Emma looked at her. "Why?" she asked.

But the fairy didn't have a chance to answer, because when they rounded the bend, they suddenly beheld a woman splashing around in the river close to a huge rock that could have been considered its own island. The group came to an abrupt stop behind Hook as he froze midstep. Setting down the foot that was in the air slowly, a tense sort of expectation surrounded him. As soon as he set his booted foot down on some dried leaves, the woman's attention whipped around and instantly landed on the group. As they stood there immobilized, hesitant to move because they didn't know how she would react, the woman intently scrutinized them. When she finished, instead of running away as they expected, she slowly swam over to their side of the river and began rising from the water, her thick blonde hair dripping down her back and the thin dress she wore clinging to her like a now transparent second skin.

"Hook…I thought women were practically extinct here," Emma whispered accusingly.

"She's no ordinary woman," Hook answered lowly.

"A siren?" Charming asked.

"In a way, yes. Her name is Lorelei," the pirate replied, keeping his wary attention on the woman as she approached them.

Emma looked over at her father suspiciously. "How did you know?" she asked him.

"I may have fought one or two in my time," Charming answered. His daughter's eyes almost bugged out at that information.

"Then you know what they're capable of," Hook mused.

"Yeah, a little bit," the prince replied, "But this one is obviously different. Why hasn't she transformed yet?"

"Transformed?" Emma wondered aloud.

Charming nodded. "The siren I met transformed into your mother," he told her, risking a glance at his wife, who raised her eyebrow at him.

"When did this happen?" Snow asked, "You never told me."

"It was before we were married, I was helping Abigail," the prince said in a whisper.

"Ah," Snow commented, understanding.

"So they're supposed to transform?" Regina suddenly brought up.

"Aye," Hook murmured, "My guess is that she isn't sure whom to transform into, so she's not risking it."

"Who to transform into?" Emma asked.

"Sirens have a habit of transforming into whoever men desire in the absence of said…romantic partner," Charming said uncomfortably, throwing a look at Snow.

Emma eyed Hook carefully at this information. She understood why Lorelei hadn't transformed into her mother. After all, her father was right there and he would have known how to tell the difference. But shouldn't she have changed into the Milah he had tattooed on his forearm? Clearly, he'd been deeply in love with her to have her name permanently inked on his body and to chase after her murderer for 300 years…

Apparently, she wasn't discreet enough for Hook to miss her curiosity. Catching her thoughtful expression with a quick glance, he spoke to her as he watched Lorelei.

"It's been a long time, lass," he told her by way of explanation.

Emma wasn't sure that was explanation enough, but she didn't think now was the time to question it. Instead, she, along with the rest of the group, kept warily watching the siren as she approached, Charming with his hand on his sword handle. When she got within a few feet of them, a toothy smile crossed her face which made Emma's skin crawl. She stopped all of three feet in front of Hook.

"It's been a while, Hook," Lorelei warbled, her voice reminding Emma of the water behind the woman with a melodic lilt to it.

"Lorelei," Hook replied stiffly.

"Oh come now," the siren murmured as she came even closer, "Is that any way to greet an…intimate friend?"

Lorelei's true meaning couldn't have been more clear. "_Really_, Hook?" Emma hissed. The siren threw her an irritated glance at the incredulous tone in her voice.

"It meant nothing, Emma," Hook told her. "It was at a point in my existence that I truly loathed myself."

"More than you do now?" she muttered.

"Much," the pirate answered.

The siren was practically on Hook now, and reached out to brush some of his hair off his forehead with elegant fingers. He didn't so much as twitch as she did so. Her mouth turned down in an attractive moue. "You're so mean, Hook," she whimpered dramatically. Then her focus shifted to Charming, "This one seems rather kind, though."

Snow stepped forward as if to land a blow, but her husband put out on arm to stop her from going further. She threw him a mutinous look, but he shook his head and she huffed out a breath before retreating, though she continued to throw death glares at the siren. Lorelei just watched her in amusement.

"We just want to pass, Lorelei," the pirate replied, returning her attention to him.

"Such a lovely face," the siren murmured, scrubbing her hand down his cheek and sliding her finger along his jaw. "But you know I can't just let anyone pass, darling, even if you are one of my favorites."

Emma had no idea how to react to all of this. It was one thing to see Hook constantly flirting with others, but to see someone so openly flirting with him? It was sort of amusing…especially considering how completely indifferent he was to it. At the very least, she'd expected some banter from him.

"Lorelei…" Hook said warningly.

"And such beautiful blue eyes," she commented, as if in a trance. "They remind me of my river…which I can't let you cross," her voice suddenly became darker, more menacing, at the latter part of the sentence.

"Hook, couldn't we just stay on this side?" Emma wondered aloud, watching the agitated siren's face warily for signs of attack.

"No, lass," he answered, still unmoving. "What's the toll now, Siren?" he asked.

Lorelei's face once again shifted to the pleasant, trance-like expression she had had before. Her hand slid from Hook's face to his chest, right where the heart was. "A true heart," she answered, a suddenly manic gleam in her eye. Her sharp, pointed nails dug into his chest and Emma saw the first sign of discomfort she'd seen in Hook's face. Moving forward abruptly, she shoved the siren away from him.

"Sorry, we're fresh out of those," she growled as the manic look on the siren's face morphed into fury. Lorelei shrieked and came straight back at her.

"Emma!" Hook called, grabbing her out of harm's way. The other blonde woman stumbled as she realized she'd bypassed Emma and she turned back on them.

"Oh, for the love of-" Regina suddenly spoke, clearly frustrated, and generated a fireball in her hand. She quickly threw it at the siren, who shrieked again as she dodged. "Why do you all have to make things more difficult?" she groused as she created another fireball and took aim.

"Regina, we shouldn't!" Snow shouted.

"I'm sick of you and your goody-two-shoe ways. You have no say in what I do," the former queen hissed as she threw the fireball.

"I think she's got the right idea," Tinkerbell said from her position floating next to Snow, her aura red, "I'll go help her." And so, the fairy flitted over to Lorelei's location and began to fly around her, distracting the siren as Regina threw fireballs at strategic points.

"Hook, what now?!" Charming called.

"Head for the rock!" the pirate shouted back, "Regina, keep her busy!" He grabbed Emma by the wrist and pulled her in the direction of the boulder Lorelei had been splashing around earlier. Though she was more than willing to fight the siren, when he let go of her wrist, Emma went along anyway, if begrudgingly.

"So," she panted as they ran, "A siren, huh? She really seemed to like you."

"I'm difficult to resist, lass," Hook called back to her, though he kept moving forward. Emma noticed that his gait seemed to be uneven and slower than usual, but it really wasn't a good time for her to ask about it. When they reached the bank, Snow and Charming had caught up.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Snow gasped as they met up.

"I think they can handle it," Emma said wryly as yet another watery shriek split through the air. "Let's go!" Not waiting for permission, she leaped for the rock and landed solidly. Looking across at the other bank, she saw that it was further away than the part she'd already jumped across, but, stepping as close to the edge as she could and getting a running start, she hurdled herself off it and landed on the other side…though not as gracefully as her first landing. Stumbling, she ended up almost planting her face in the mud, but just managed to bring her arms out enough to avoid that. Spinning so she was able to sit on the ground, she clapped her hands together and tried to swipe it off as she watched the others make their way across the water. Though Hook winced as he leapt and landed, Emma was too intent on the danger behind them to notice. When she returned her attention to the battle, Regina was throwing fireball after fireball, but even with Tink acting as a distraction, Lorelei somehow managed to dodge them all. The fight came closer and closer to the bank of the river and Emma realized the siren was purposely leading her opponents there. That did not bode well.

As Emma prepared to call out a warning to the two, Lorelei made it within a few meters of the river and stopped. Though she couldn't see her face, Emma could only guess the sinister curl that probably curled her mouth as she got what she wanted. Waving her arms, Emma watched in horror as the water from the river rose to match her motions. No way…

But what seemed impossible to Emma was soon proven possible as the water rose over Lorelei, washing Tink out of the way, and went straight at Regina. A split second of shock swept over her features as she beheld the wave just before it crashed down on her. She struggled to get up, but Lorelei apparently had a lot of control over the water from her own river. She swirled it around Regina, pressing her down to the ground and invading her lungs with it.

"Regina! Tink!" Emma shouted, jumping to her feet. The rest of the group turned around to look at what she was seeing and the same horror Emma had felt crossed over their faces.

"NO!" Snow screamed, whipping out her bow and taking aim. Letting loose her arrow, she struck her target, the projectile sinking into Lorelei's shoulder. The siren shrieked and fell forward, then lay still.

"Did you kill her?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"No," Snow let out a breath, "Just the shock of getting hit, I think. She'll be fine once she gets up and takes it out. But we shouldn't stick around to find out." Ending the explanation on that note, she ran forward and bounded across the river again to Regina's side, Emma following. The former queen was on her knees and coughing up water, but when Snow got to her side, she had no problem waving her away and getting to her feet unsteadily. She said something to her stepdaughter, then headed toward the crossing. As she did so, Emma went to where she saw Tink go down. Searching through the grass, she found her struggling to get up with wet wings, but otherwise fine.

"Need a hand?" she asked the fairy as she squatted down by her. Tinkerbell looked up at her, then looked behind herself to check her wings. She sighed.

"Yeah, probably," Tink answered as she managed to get herself to an upright seated position. Emma brought her hands down and carefully scooped her up.

"I'm going to have to put you in my pocket so we can get across," Emma told her. The fairy nodded grumpily, and the blonde woman couldn't help but grin a bit. Holding Tink in one hand, she opened up one of the big pockets the gnomes had provided for her in her jacket and slipped the wet pixie into it.

By the time she got to the bank where Regina and Snow stood in preparation to cross, the former queen seemed to have recovered enough to make her way to the other side without help—not that she would have accepted it anyway. Emma looked at her mother with a raised eyebrow, but Snow just shrugged. They allowed Regina to go first, just in case she was actually more out of it than she was letting on and would need their help.

As it turned out, their first instincts had been right and she didn't. After everyone had crossed, Regina merely gave the group disdainful looks, then made her way down the river in the direction they'd been heading earlier.

"Let's go," Charming said, following Regina. The rest nodded and did as he suggested, Hook eventually taking over Regina's head start to lead them back to the Jolly Roger. Hopefully without any more dangerous interceptions…

* * *

When they had resumed a steady pace down the river and made a slight detour into the jungle, Emma's thoughts turned to reflect on the fight with Lorelei. She hadn't really been able to absorb everything about the situation at the time, being too focused on everyone surviving the encounter, but as she went over it in her mind, she remembered something.

"Hey, Hook?" she wondered aloud as she tried to catch up with him and evaded a suspicious-looking bush.

"Hm?" he responded, still intently focused on the trek.

"What's wrong with your leg?" she asked, point-blank.

Hook tensed up, but continued walking. "What do you mean?" he replied lightly.

"Don't play dumb with me, I saw how careful you were when we ran to the river and when you jumped over. What's going on?"

The pirate risked a quick glance at her, a frown on his face…then returned his attention to the front. "It's merely a scratch, lass. Though if you're willing to nurse it, far be it from me to stop you. However, we'll deal with it once we get to the ship. We're running out of time. The next evening shall last even longer than the past night."

"Longer?!" Emma exclaimed, almost stumbling to a stop and completely forgetting about another question she'd had about the siren, "How much longer?!"

"Closer to the current day than to the previous night," Hook answered.

"18 HOURS?!" the blonde woman shouted. The rest of the group looked at her incredulously.

"What's 18 hours?" Charming asked suspiciously.

Hook sighed as he stopped, turned around, gave Emma a dirty look, and addressed the others. "The next evening will be closer to 18 hours," he explained.

"And when in that time are we going to look for Henry?" asked Regina tightly.

The pirate regarded the former queen somberly. "We won't."

"WHAT?!" the other humans yelled. Hook winced and looked around the jungle furtively, thinking the Lost Boys had definitely heard them. When no one erupted from the trees, he returned to the group.

"We can't search for him at night," he said, "The risk is too high."

"This risk to your lousy life is high," Regina growled as she created a fireball.

"Wait!" Tinkerbell shrieked as she flew in front of Hook, "He's right!"

"Tink?" Snow wondered carefully.

"Pan's magic is always stronger at night," the fairy explained, "If we're on the sea, we at least stand a chance of surviving until morning and rescuing the boy."

"And where, exactly, IS Henry?" Regina asked lowly.

Tinkerbell fluttered nervously, but then seemed to brace herself and faced the former queen stubbornly. "On the other side of the island."

"Are you sure of that?" the dark-haired woman wondered with narrowed eyes, "How do we know you're not lying to take us off the trail?"

"Why would I do that?" Tink demanded, her aura beginning to shift.

"Well, you said you worked for Pan," Regina accused, "And we've all been told how dangerous he is. Why would you bother helping us?"

"Regina!" Snow exclaimed in shocked tones, "We can offer her something Pan can't!"

The former queen whipped around to eye Snow suspiciously. "If she's made a pact with you, that doesn't make her any more trustworthy."

"Regina, we _really_ don't have time for this," Emma said insistently, glancing at her watch.

"Emma's right," Hook interrupted. "Regina, if you want to argue with Tinkerbell, feel free to do so once we get on the ship. But the longer we stay still and the louder you are, the sooner the Lost Boys will find us," he said warningly.

Regina's lips thinned and she threw a dirty glare at the fairy. She clearly wanted to argue further. Flexing her jaw, she looked around the group. "I think Rumpelstiltskin had the right idea," she muttered, "I'd get more done without you fools." She stomped ahead of them. Snow gave the rest of the group a quick apologetic glance before going after her, and presumably to stop her from doing exactly what Rumpelstiltskin had done, Tinkerbell following her. Charming sighed and went after the other women, probably to stop them from killing each other.

Hook didn't seem in any rush to follow. The cautiousness from earlier had disappeared, and Emma considered that maybe she'd imagined that he'd been hurt as badly she'd thought…But the recollection brought to mind another question she'd wanted to ask Hook before he'd distracted them his with declaration about the length of the next night.

"Hook, I have another question," Emma mentioned carefully.

Hook looked at her carefully. "Yes?"

"If Lorelei is a siren…won't she tell the mermaids about what we did to her? And won't they want to get back at us for it?"

"No. As I said, Lorelei isn't a typical siren. In truth, she's more of a cursed existence. I'm sure you noticed that, unlike the mermaids, she didn't have any…aquatic traits?"

Emma recalled what Lorelei had looked like in the water. She hadn't seen anything fishy…"I guess…" she trailed off. Then she remembered a story from school. Something about gods or a ship or something? "But don't sirens sing sailors to their doom or something? Why didn't she?"

"Well, lass, we weren't exactly in a ship," Hook quipped.

"We will be soon, though," Emma argued.

"Lorelei won't be telling them of what we did and the mermaids won't be finding the ship that easily. They are only sensitive to ships moving, especially near their territory. As long as the Jolly remains where it is and we don't sail through their cove, we ought to be fine."

"What if Pan tells them to find us?" the blonde woman wondered as the new thought struck her.

"Though Pan and the mermaids are on good terms, it doesn't necessarily mean they will cooperate with one another. The mermaids are not at risk from him-some of the few beings on this cursed island who aren't.'

"Why is that?" Emma asked.

"Well, I'm not entirely certain," Hook mused, "The fact that they belong to the sea, and not the island, may have something to do with it. Though I was here for a very long time, there are still some secrets of Neverland I haven't uncovered."

When he mentioned his extended time in Neverland, Emma's mind turned to other recent conversations she'd had. "Hook…Mary Margaret and I were talking to Tinkerbell earlier…"

"Ah," the pirate replied, "Did she tell you the whole sordid story of our acquaintance?"

The blonde woman eyed him warily, "I'm not sure if it was the whole story, but she told us about the promise to her that you broke."

"Which one would that be?" Hook asked lightly.

"Your promise to take her with you when you left Neverland," Emma told him, though at the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder just how sordid his past with the fairy really was, considering what she'd learned about Lorelei before their fight with her…

"Ah yes, that. I did intend to bring her with me, but Pan offered me a deal I couldn't really refuse. He was…rather persuasive about leaving as quickly as possible, and since I'd found no other alternative...I didn't really have the opportunity to find Tink and bring her along."

Emma nodded, glad to finally know_ some_ of the circumstances surrounding Hook's escape from Neverland, though the information was pretty vague. Maybe she'd learn something that would be useful in getting everyone out of here in one piece…Although…

"Is there anyone or anything else we should be worried about on the way to the ship?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and daring him to lie to her.

Hook threw her a wary glance. She assumed he was remembering what went down in the dungeon. "Nothing and no one we don't already know about," he answered.

"Are you _sure_?" she pressed.

"Yes," the pirate replied with a weary sigh, "Emma, I've been away from Neverland nigh on thirty years. Even in a timeless world, things can change at the drop of a hat. I can only provide knowledge from what I already know."

"True," the blonde woman relented, "But you're our only guide right now, so we don't really have anyone else to ask about things around here."

"Well, now, that's not entirely true," Hook commented as he caught sight of the rest of the group, which was impatiently waiting for them next to a boulder in a clearing. "We could always ask Tinkerbell, seeing as she's been one of the information-gatherers for the entire island. And she's been here while I've been away."

Emma considered this as they made their way to the group and recalled Tink's warning ahead of their meeting with Lorelei. Even if it had been practically too late, she'd at least said something. So Hook had a point.

"Unfortunately, we can't really sit down and have a chat with her with the Lost Boys on our tail," she muttered. She paused for a second and took in the darkening surroundings. "Do you think we'll get back to the ship before it gets dark?"

"Barring any more unforeseen circumstances," Hook murmured as he gestured with his head to the others that they should follow him. Pushing through some particularly thick vegetation, his face brightened a bit. "Well, though we may not be at the ship yet, we are getting closer." He waved at the group to come closer. Clustering together, they peered out from a cliff to look down and see where the Jolly Roger was moored, though they couldn't see the ship itself thanks to the magic that kept it cloaked.

"Wait—how did we go uphill and not feel it?" Emma wondered.

"Neverland magic," Tinkerbell explained as she floated nearby.

"If we follow the river, we'll return to the field from before," Hook said, pointing at an opening in the trees about halfway between their current location and the ship. "Or we can go downhill from here through the jungle to it."

"Let's stick with the river," Charming said, "If we go the other way, the plants are just going to slow us down."

"Too right, mate," Hook answered as he made his way back down the hill.

"I'm not your mate," the prince grumbled, but followed. The women did the same, Tinkerbell flying between Snow and Emma.

* * *

They managed to avoid any more interference for the rest of the trek back to the ship. How they managed to get there without running into any Lost Boys was anyone's guess. Maybe they'd been expecting that the team wouldn't make it to the Jolly Roger before nightfall. Or perhaps the princes had managed to keep them occupied long enough that the group could get away. Or Pan had something else in mind to deal with the outsiders…

As she stepped on the ship and a sea breeze swept over her, Emma let out a sigh of relief. Her legs were sore, she was exhausted, and she was starving. Luckily, they'd just run out of water before reaching the ship, so dehydration wasn't an issue, even with the oppressive humidity of the jungle, but the last food they'd had was at the gnomes' village and that had been…a very long time ago.

"So we've survived day one," Charming said tiredly as he sat plopped down onto the floor of the ship and rested his head against the side of it. Snow yawned and sat down next to her husband, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"But we still don't have Henry," Regina commented bitterly as she sat on one of the crates.

"And we've lost Rumpelstiltskin," Emma pointed out as she took a seat on the steps leading up to the wheel.

"No real loss on my part," Hook quipped, but he too didn't seem to have the energy to come up with anything else witty. He leaned against the mast of the ship and rested the back of his head on it.

"We do have Tinkerbell, though," Snow said with a sleepy smile at the fairy, who seemed to be the only one with any energy left. Of course, she hadn't hiked for hours on end or fought the Lost Boys, not to mention she'd gotten a little help on the journey from hitching a ride on Snow's bag and in Emma's pocket…

"Oh yeah, great alternative," Regina sniped as she blew a limp piece of hair out of her face and gathered enough strength to glare at Tink.

"Ladies, maybe now is not the time for arguments?" Charming wondered, almost sounding as if he was begging for peace.

"So what do we do now?" Emma asked, morosely staring at the island.

"We eat and sleep," Hook answered as he stepped away from the mast, "We're all far too worn out to be thinking up plans."

"Captain Hook worn out?" Emma wondered with a tired smirk playing at the corner of her mouth, "I thought he lived off of adventure?"

"Lass, if I were more conscious, I would take offense at that," the pirate replied with a slight smile of his own. He walked over to one of the crates and opened one. "Without Rumpelstiltskin here to provide us with sustenance, I suppose we'll have to use the rations."

Standing up on wobbly legs, Emma walked over to where he was and peered into the crate. She wrinkled her nose. "That smells awful," she grimaced.

Hook had enough energy to let out a light chuckle. "Well, to preserve foods, one must resort to extreme measures. The smell may be unpleasant, but the food is quite edible, I assure you."

"Is that…pickled cabbage?" she asked, clearly disgusted.

"Believe me, Swan, it isn't nearly as terrible as it smells," Hook told her. He pulled out a few jars of food. "These will be our provisions for the night," he said to the group.

"Will it be enough?" Snow wondered, somewhat roused by the smell coming from the crate. It was even better than smelling salts…

"If we ration wisely," the captain answered.

The group tiredly struggled to their feet and approached the food. Deciding that they were too hungry to be picky, each member of the team grabbed enough food to fill their stomachs and then started heading down to their bunks, Regina managing to make a dignified entrance while Snow and Charming each had an arm around the other. If it had been an ordinary day, it would have made for an intimate moment, but Emma had a feeling that it was more out of necessity rather than out of sheer affection. Even holding each other up as they were, they occasionally stumbled.

Tinkerbell timidly approached Emma, who was sitting on that step again, looking at the island. "Do you want to know what the situation is with the boy?" she asked.

"I think we should wait until we're all more awake," Emma told her with a yawn. "What are you going to do while we're sleeping, Tink?"

"I'll be on the lookout," the fairy told her, then looked at Hook. "If that's all right."

"As long as you don't destroy the ship or bring it any unwanted attention," the pirate warned her.

"Of course I won't," Tink answered hotly, her aura shifting to an irritated red, "Why would I risk my only chance of getting out of here?"

Hook nodded and turned his attention to Emma. "Are you coming down, Emma?"

"Yeah," Emma yawned again, "G'night, Tink."

"Good night Emma. Hook," the fairy told them, then flew around the side of the ship and disappeared in the opposite direction.

"Shall we turn in?" the pirate asked as he turned to head down the stairs to the cabins. Emma nodded and followed him, but at the bottom of the stairs, her tired feet stumbled and she found herself tripping. She let out a startled sound, which was promptly smothered in leather. She felt, more than saw, when they hit the wall.

"Are you falling for me, love?" an amused male voice asked her as one arm stayed around her back. Mortified, but knowing she would have to, eventually, Emma raised her head from Hook's shoulder, one of her hands resting on his shoulder, the other on his chest. She didn't move back too far, unsure of exactly what position they were in. One wrong move and someone could get hurt or bring them both to the ground…wouldn't that be a sight for her parents…

Breathing shakily, she lifted her head enough to see his mischievous face.

"Shall I call out your parents to help you to your cabin?" he wondered, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"No!" Emma loudly whispered. As if this wasn't embarrassing enough!

"Well, then, shall I assist you?" he offered, waggling his eyebrows.

Emma couldn't help it. She laughed. Laughed so hard she had to bury her face in his coat again to avoid waking everyone else up if they were asleep. It had to have been the exhaustion, the absolute craziness that she'd experienced ever since Greg and Tamara had set off the black diamond to destroy Storybrooke. Rather than break down into tears, she instead broke out into hopeless laughter.

As she was laughing, Emma felt Hook's hand rubbing circles on her back—did he know…? Surprised by the idea, she stopped laughing and dared to look at his face again. Instead of the mischief from earlier, she saw…concern? Not exactly…understanding? Whatever it was, she found herself swallowing at the expression.

"We'll find Henry," he told her somberly, "I swear it." Emma nodded, more to stop the conversation rather than anything else. But he didn't stop there.

"And I'm sorry about Neal," he continued, pain in his own eyes. A lump formed in her throat that she did NOT need right now. She would NOT cry in front of him. Her exhaustion, however, had the better of her, and she couldn't stop one tear from escaping. Which meant others were likely to follow. She looked down. As she blinked furiously, she felt a hand cupping her jawline. Gently, it encouraged her to look up. Another tear escaped when her eyes met Hook's again and she couldn't help but close them to stop herself from seeing her own pained expression reflected in them. She felt his thumb rub a tear away and let out a shuddering breath.

"Emma…stay brave, lass," he told her, brushing a soft kiss across her forehead. The gesture made her relax…just a little. His arm left her back and Emma felt him step away from her as she opened her eyes. "Get some rest, love," he said and, with one lingering glance, he took one more step back and turned around to head down the hall. She watched him as he left, her hand tempted to go to her forehead.

She resisted the urge, though, and when he closed his door softly behind himself, she walked to her own door and entered her cabin. Allowing herself to lean back against the door, she tried to figure out what had just happened. Her mind was too sluggish from her exhaustion, though, and she couldn't figure it out. Rather than make herself dizzy trying to force her brain to cooperate, Emma decided her best bet was to sleep. Shucking her coat and pants, she climbed into her bed and instantly fell into a dreamless slumber.


End file.
